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Final Digipak

Final Poster

Digipak Brief

ABOUT

Three young boys from Surrey known as 'Young Mistakes' are in need of a sharp, simple but unique Digi-pak for their brand new single 'Alright'. Billy, James and Adam are three boys that have always had a passion for music, almost like they could not live without it. They have come out fighting in the industry after performing in a few pubs and gigs and want to be able to tackle others artists out their and show what PURE talent is all about. They   are the indie type with their skinny jeans and converse but remain far from being pretentious and respect everyone's opinions. Their three young boys, they are going to want to have fun and go out to drink booze and get girls but that is what everyone likes about them, their not fake and will never let the media change them. 

Please feel free to check them out on these following websites:

Facebook :YoungMistakes_Official

Twitter: @YoungMistakes_Official
www.YoungMistakesOfficial.co.uk

TARGET AUDIENCE

The target audience for our digipak is something we would like to stay the same as the bands target audience which is 18-25. You could possibly include some hints to attract older citizens such as mothers, fathers and guardians for when it comes to times such as birthdays and Christmas and would like to consume the digipak for their children. The bands fans are very similar to the band and will be able to get involved with the band more than other artists commit their self too. Due to the similarities our target audience will be the type that also live and breathe music. They will be consistent in buying albums instead downloading as music is extremely sentimental to them. They will be hardcore gig attenders and enjoy horror films mostly. Dark colours will probably appeal to them most but we need something that is going to stand out and not look too hardcore and sad. 

REQUIREMENTS

The things we definitely want included on the digipak is the bands logo on the cover. The logo consists of a black circle with a white head silhouette  We want the logo to become remember-able and known around the world. Its a unique logo and is very eye catchy already but I feel it need to be made more relevant to the video and more bright. The logo is extremely significant as you cant actually see what the band looks like ( we want them to be sold on their music and not their looks). There must be all five track names on the digipak which are: Alright, Numb, Escape My Legacy, Leaving and  We're Young. Inside it is essential that their is a picture of the band members (either individual or together I don't mind) but we want the audience to be able to relate to the band and want to get to know them, they can't do that if everything is a mystery. A competition would be nice as it will open up more options for the consumers, you can decide what it is. Our record label is 'Island Records' and we would like their logo feature on the digipak, it will make the audience aware of other artists they have managed and possible attract them to our band as we are very similar in some ways. Finally, if possible could you make references to a dark blue colour, this will relate to the mise en scene within the video and signify the lead singer. 

Band Logo

Album Art

Is your digipak really going to sell?

During this lesson I learnt about what it takes to make a good digipak and what i will have to apply to my own to make it sell. I was taught about the codes and conventions of a digipak and they mainly revolve around identity through the us of the print and web design. You have to try and find away to communicate to your audience what the album holds including references to your actual music video i.e. colour, Mise en scene, location shots. The power of the typography on your digipak is very significant as it can not just be random or to stand out but must hold some kind of relevant ideologies to the artist.

Within the lesson we also looked at this famous image created for 'The Rolling Stones' which is incredibly simplistic and very appealing to its target audience and rock genre lovers. It can be questioned what made this image so iconic due to its simplicity of including only a tongue and face joint together using just three colours but it has stayed in the mind of millions for years. The success of this image was determined fully by the graphic designer as it can hardly be related to the Rolling Stone band members so due to such great his great thoughts and design this album cover contributed to selling even more records. 

Commodification

When a product is made with the aim of selling it at a particular price, it becomes a “commodity.” In order to expand it, capitalism forced all goods to be converted into commodities.  The professionally popular media that was produced emerged in the nineteenth century and had a double relation to the commodity system . All products were commodities in their own right as they are sold for a price, but some, most notably the popular press and, later, commercial broadcasting, also provided the major spaces where other kinds of commodities were advertised and promoted. 

In the music industry if the public carry on illegally downloading tracks and albums the music industry will eventually die! The artists and music labels will not be earning hardly any money except from live performances. Shops such as HMV will shut down and this will then lead the music industry to permanently sell albums and singles on sites such as iTunes and Amazon. This will end the collection for true music fans who like to actually buy albums and singles instead of having them saved as a format. This is making society a lot lazier and if the audience have to buy music online anyway, it would be the same process to illegally download for free.   

Digipack Analysis

This is a digipack for 'R' by R Kelly in which he wrote and produced all of the songs featured. 

The Outside Of The Pack (The Top) 

On the far left features a big bold, solid 'R'. The 'R' dominates the cover and is clearly the album name. The colour consists of red & black symbolising the love but also mystery behind his music. 

The middle cover shows the artist in his element doing what he loves. He poses by looking up as if he is thanking god for his success and the golden light adds to this as it gives it a heavenly ambiance. R Kelly stands alone on the stage with no fancy lighting, props or musicians and this shows he is a pure and original artist. 

To the far right is a silhouette of R Kelly with the letter 'R' This welcomes his audience into his lifestyle and almost allows them to talk to him as a friend; it also shows how he don't have to write out his whole name for people to know who he is. 

The Inside Of The Pack (The Bottom)

On the cover to the left shows the track names and a image of of R Kelly standing topless and showing of his muscles representing masculinity. He holds what looks like a towel or shirt on his shoulder showing he gives it all in his performance such as blood and sweat. The Colour in the background is gold and looks like clouds, this once again relates to the heaven feeling. 

The middle cover again shows a big 'R' within a circle. The circle is a way of representing a Cd/Music and the R is placed in the centre dominating the circle showing that R Kelly is in charge of his music. 

The cover to the right is another silhouette of R kelly but is a picture from one of his previous albums. This shows his staying loyal to his music and true fans that have been there from the start. it shows he hasn't changed and is still the same person even though the music industry is constantly changing. 

Adorno & Horkeimer's Theory

The Culture Industry
The culture industry is the way Adorno and Horkheimer ' argue which items are produced and how they can be compared to other industries manufactured vast quantities of consumer goods. This means that  the culture industry is always made up of the same things and a pattern can be seen between how some items are produced compared to other items within the culture industry. Adorno and Horkheimer also argued that the culture industry showed an 'assembly-line character' which could be observed in the synthetic, planned method of turning out its product. Adorno and Horkheimer's are trying to say that the the industry don't promote artist's because of their talent, but they promote the artists which they can make most money out of even if they haven't got as good as a voice as another person. 

The X-Factor Machine 
Adorno and Horkeimer linked the 'culture industry' theory to a type of 'mass culture' in which cultural production had become a routine and made the audience expect nothing more but pop artists as it is what they became used to. This makes it a lot easier to meet an audiences expectations and therefore sells more records and the artist to its full extent. Standardisation is a repetitive operation that produced undemanding cultural commodities which in turn resulted in a type of consumption that was also standardised, distracted and passive. 

The X-Factor
Adorno and Horkheimer argued that the 'culture industry' operated in the same way as other producing industries. All the work and publicity had become formalised and products were made according to rationalised organisational procedures that were established for the sole purpose of making money.Adorno and Horkheimer is arguing that everything is extended and dragged out to having a duration as long as possible in order to gain a lot more money from the audience as it remains in the public eye for a longer time. An example of this is X factor as their series consists of many stages such as auditions, boot camp, judges houses, live shows, semi final, celebrity duets and then the final.

Standardisation
Adorno and Horkheimer argued that all products produced by the culture industry exhibited standardised features. The argument here is that there is nothing special or different about the process of cultural production. It has become a recognisable operation that can be carried out in an office by the application of specific formulae. Adorno noted that songs which became successful over time were often referred to as 'standards', a category that clearly drew attention to their formulaic character. From the 'plan' to the details, songs were based around repetitive sequences and frequently recurring refrains. This strategy has been done for the sole purpose that the song would imprint itself on the mind of the listener and then provoke a purchase. For Adorno, the production of bit songs had become a mechanical and manipulative operation motivated purely by commercial gain. Think about the popular songs that you might hear throughout an average day (radio, shopping, television, club or bar). Are songs becoming too predictable? are they becoming standardised. This is stating that we have to look for different/alternative songs as the only songs played buy the media and advertised are the the typical ones and doesn't sound like a different song that you've already heard.

Pseudo Individuality (false Individuality)
Adorno and Horkheimer were also critical of what they referred to as pseudo individuality. By this they meant the way that the culture industry assembled products that made claims to 'originality' but which when examined more critically exhibited little more than superficial differences. Adorno and Horkheimer evoked the image of the lock and key, an item that is mass produced in millions, whose uniqueness lies in only very minor modifications. What Adorno and Horkheimer are trying to state is that the X factor winners are all the same and have very minimal differences or any unique style.

Conclusion
Adorno and Horkheimer believe that the culture industry allows people to become 'masses' and be easily manipulated by capitalist corporations and authoritarian governments. Adorno and Horkheimer thus present us with a powerful arguement about what happens to culture when it is subect to the structural control and organisation of industrial capitalist production, it becomes merely a standardised, formulaic and repetitive element of 'mass culture'. It has no aesthetic value whatsoever and leads to a very specific type of consumption that is passive, obedient and easily manipulated for the purpose propaganda or advertising.