Digipak analysis

Digipaks contain higher quality images for the audience and usually contain a letter or note from the artist to the audience to help them relate to the artist and give it a personal touch, they may also contain bonus songs which is unavailable on CD, it has six sides, so there is more room for promotion and information on the artist which helps the artist sell themselves and catch the attention of a wider audience, it will be seen as a collectors item by fans as well, making them want to purchase it, the information is easy to access, making it longer lasting and appealing to the audience. I have chosen to analyse Gabrielle Aplins 'english rain' digipak, this is her most famous digipak and is huge within her fan base.

This image represents the artist as unique and different to other artists, almost in her own world, drawing in the audience to see whats so different about her compared to other artists, the connotation of the digipak invokes happiness, although there is lots of dull colours around the artist she shines through and this is portrayed using the multi coloured umbrella, the black and white colours portray depression and sadness in the background but at the forefront the multicoloured umbrella shows the happiness and joy and her flamboyant personality shining through, the layout has the artist in the dead centre to show that she is the most important and the key person within the song, helping the audience memorise her as an artist and therefore helps her sell future songs to her audience, the typography for 'english rain' is extremely indie and shows the audience what genre the artist is, helping attract the audience she wants, the style of language of 'english rain' shows the simplicity and purity of her music and shows how straight up it is and has no hidden meanings, it is just what is says in the song, this part of the digipak shows the audience the theme of the rest of the digipak and songs within it, allowing for the correct audience to be drawn in and therefore prevents the wrong fans from listening to it and not enjoying it, therefore it's chances of succeeding along with the artist are increased and allows the artist to become wider renounced within the indie genre industry.

The digipak promotes the genre as dark, but having a silver lining and a not being all gloom, through the use of dark colours contrasting against the bright colours, it also shows it has truth about it and not just a load of concept in which it is selling you a dream life style and isn't just showing off the artists wealth, something that the audience would be able to relate to and understand/ emphasise with the artists situation, meaning the artist and audience create a closer relationship, which makes the artist more likely to be successful and relate to a wider audience.

It promotes the artist as down to earth and a normal, everyday person that goes through the same feelings and relationships as every other person and does not live a different lifestyle to her fans, it does this by using a simple lay out and plain background, this makes her more appealing and achievable to the audience, making her, in turn, more likeable, which is helpful when trying to become a big artist as you need a lot of people to like you and your music and to back you in your journey to become a star and to become successful within a wider audience.

The digipak attracts the audience as it does not show off any flashy lifestyles or cars and half naked girls, it is a mature and real genre which the audience can relate to and really get into, not just use to dream of a better lifestyle and become jealous of the artist, it attracts those that are more mature and realists, just wanting to enjoy music instead of envy the artists behind it.

This research has allowed our group to see how to appeal to certain audiences and specifically the indie audience, this will help us understand what our digipak should aim to look like and why, we will use a dull dark background with flashes of colour to show it is real and blunt but not too sad and depressive, but enough to be real and relatable to the audience, letting them really get into the music, also we will place our artist in the direct centre of the screen to help the audience focus on her, having a blank background around her so there are no distractions for the audience, helping them memorise her face and therefore helping her become more successful and appeal to a wider audience. There will be a slide specifically designated to the list of songs within the album, which will stick to the colour scheme and will have a scene of fields, the same with all the other slides, allowing for them to link together and give off an effect of a nature loving, down to earth artist, all the slides will follow this theme to reinforce this idea into the audiences head and make her more likeable to her fanbase.