A2 Media Studies

Above I have found three different album covers from current R&B artists to demonstrate how they layout their cover, what kind of picture they use and what kind of text they use to help advertise themselves. You can compare the difference betweent they way male and female artists look and what image they want to give from their album covers you can also compare the difference between age and ethnicity. Music, particularly R&B, is a good way to bring together a whole range of artists from different ages, cultures and sex producing the same genre of music but presenting it in a different way to eachother.

 

Justin Bieber's album cover:

 

• He is emphasisng on his age by having his shirt undone to show off his hairless chest and also running his hand through his hair.

• He goes against the typical stereotype of a teenages because of the smarter clothes he is wearing, he is challenging this and giving teenagers a better name by showing that they aren't always lazy and that they can make something of themselves. 

• The background of this album cover is very simple which brings your attention to him, the main artist. In the background however there is a more faded image of him that is looking at the bolder image which helps enforce the title of the single 'Boyfriend' as the faded image could be looking at the bolder image as he is jealous.

• The colour of the artist name is the same colour as the background which helps enforce the simplicity of the cover and bring out Justin Bieber so that he stands out more making him more noticable. This title is one word so very sharp and gives you an understanding of what the single will be about, it is called 'Boyfriend' and justin Bieber has been made to look desirable to the younger female audience to enforce this title and give an idea of what it will be about.

• The title of the single is very clear and bold so that it is eye catching and easy to read first time however the name of the artist is very small but because they have used a large picture of him everyone will already know who it is and will more likely want to see what the album or single is called.

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Beyonce's album cover:

 

• Beyonce is showing her femininity by showing her body but showing dignity by covering her self up and not showing too much. She is also wearing heavy make up and jewellery to make a statment that she is a strong independant woman and can stand tall by having her arms crossed above her head and a firm facial expression.

• The background of the cover is very simple, neutral and plain so that she stands out more and becomes the main image on the cover rather than all the attention being drawn to the background.

• She is the only character on the cover because she is a solo artist again to enforce all the attention being on her and no one else, she could have used a photo of one of her live performances which would then include the crowd however the attention would then be on all the other people and not her so it is better to have a simple, plain background which will make Beyonce stand out more.

• The title of the artist name and album name are in the same font to add continuity and they are also large and bold which is helped to be enforced by the plain background, they are a different colour also to the background so that they stand out more and become more obvious.

• A difference with Beyonce's album cover compared to Justin Bieber's is that her name is larger than the album title but not by much, the name of the album '4' is very simple and wouldn't look as good to be bigger than her name so this is based on the layout of the cover to make it look better and also having her name larger gives emphasis on her and making more of a statement than the title of the album would due to the length of it.

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Usher's album cover:

 

• You can see Usher isn't showing the front of his face, instead he is showing his side profile which helps enforce the title of the album 'Looking 4 Myslef' and by not showing the front of his face this portrays that he is lost, or half of him is lost.

• The background of the cover is very exciting and busy which would normally take attention away from the artist however Usher's side profile still fills the whole of the cover so that the main focus is still on him. The background is also very detailed but of a neutral colour which could have a link to the fake tattoos on his neck, they are of a similar detailed design and actually flow into eachother nearly so that it is the side of his face showing clearly.

• The colour of the font is black which will stand out on any background and as the background is quite busy a bold colour font helps it to stand out more. The style font used to the name of the artist and title of the album looks like it has been handwritten and like a signature to make it more personal to Usher. The title of the artist and of the album are both similar sizes not making one stand out more than the other but more relying on the audience to recognise the image of Usher on the front to be drawn into looking at the album.

• The title of the album 'Looking 4 Myself' also makes it more personal to Usher and giving and idea to the audience of what the album will be about and what the song titles may be, they will have a flowing pattern.

• This album cover is particularlly different to that of Justin Bieber and Beyonce as it has a more busy background and still manages to draw attention to the artist rather than the background. They are all similar in that the main photo is only of the artist themselves and never anyone else, mainly because they are all solo artists but in some cases artists use a live photo which then makes it harder to distinguish them from the crowd.