Digipak Samples

I am now at the stage where I will begin mocking up my digipak. This is very exciting as I've had great fun experimenting with fonts, images and effects for my package. However, first here are a few samples. Any feedback is always appreciated !

Cover Sample

I really like the placement of the shoes as the placement of shoes adds negative space that reflects the stripped down aspect and simplicity of my video. In addition, it also provides a lovely contrast in shadow and light which links to the track name 'Daylight'. I've chosen the digital font as it reflects the theme of time and links into the stop motion section of clocks.

Back Sample

An image of the beach fits in nicely with the video, as many of the scenes have been shot here. I've stuck with the same washed out editing technique featured in the cover sample to really assume the idea of collective unity and synergy throughout the package. It also emits a vintage and indie feel, whilst keeping it light and saturated to reflect a peaceful and joyful style. However, I'm a bit torn with the placing of the track names, as they look great scattered around the image, yet this is not a conventional way of placing them judging from already established digipaks. However, this might just be the key to an interesting cover as my music genre is more alternative than conventional.

6. CD Sales Investigation

During this period of time in an ever developing world, the budding internet is offering a huge variety of ways to view, listen to and download music and videos for free. Although this is incredibly convenient for many, it does mean that CD and Album sales have begun to plummet during the last 5 years.

Death of the physical Album & CD?

For the week ending May 30, the U.S. music industry sold a total of 4,984,000 albums, according to Nielsen Soundscan. This figure, which includes new and catalog releases, represents the fewest number of albums sold in one week since Soundscan began compiling this data in 1994. Taking this into account when comparing to the album sales for the week ending May 31, 2009, totaled 5.76 million. The highest one-week tally recorded during the Soundscan era is 45.4 million albums, in late December, 2000. This is a considerably large drop in sales, and one can't help but wonder, is it the beginning of the decline and death of physical album and CDs? According to Billboard's estimation, that weekly album sales volume could, in fact, be at its lowest point since the early 1970s.

Whatever the benchmark for album sales in the past few years, industry executives agree that this week's album sales total of 4.98 million units is "pretty scary," in the words of Bruce Ogilvie, CEO of leading music wholesaler Super D. However, digital track sales for the week totaled 21.7 million, and are distinct from the album sales tally, which links to my previous point emphasizing the growth of power of the internet in aspects such as programme's like iTunes where music is paid for prior to being downloaded. UMGD's Urie cites this week's album total as "all the more reason why everyone in the industry should be focused on getting the U.S. Congress to introduce legislation that makes the Internet service providers our allies in fighting piracy. Piracy is getting worse and worse and the government needs to focus on that."

Piracy

Following the death of notorious filesharing and piracy program, Limewire, killed by the US courts after a four-year battle with the Recording Industry Association of America, its legal rivals are beginning to voice hope.
"It's a huge positive for the music industry that LimeWire has been shut down," Steve Purdham the outspoken chief executive of UK music streaming site We7 said. Although this has been incredibly beneficial to the sales of albums as people were unable to share files as easily as before Purdham still voices his conern;
"But what we don't want is for the site's users to simply move on to the next illegal peer-to-peer sharing site that grabs their attention."

Artists these days have now resulted in making money and cultivating success in several different ways. One which has been incrasingly popular is music festivals, as demands for live music are now rising. Examples of music festivals are Coachella and Lollapalooza in the USA and Glastonbury in the UK, just to name a few.

Coachella Music Festival

Appearing on TV shows and attending live interviews are also a great source of publicity as it shows stars active in society voicing an opinion or merely just making an appearance. A great example of this is Lana Del Rey's appearance on Saturday Night Live, which has promoted her image and her upcoming album release 'Born to Die'.

Lana Del Rey- Saturday Night Live

5. Photoshop

To practice my photoshop skills and grow accustomed to the layout and style of digipaks I have created an exact copy (or as much as a copy as my resources have allowed  me to) of the Faithless album, To All New Arrivals. I feel this task has helped immensely with familiarizing myself to the workings of photoshop and the layout of a Digipak to maximize it's capacity to transmit information and promote the style and visuals of the band.

Cover Art Copy

Back Cover Copy

Although the cover art doesn't emply the exact same image and therefore the editing is not identical, I still think it is effective as I was able to transmit the same style and atmosphere of the original. This is really a very valuable skill to me, as my video is all about emitting a certain attitude, state of mind and genre through the layout and style of the digipak. Therefore, I actually think it is better as appearing to not be a carbon copy but something that employs the same image as the original.

Original- Back

Original- Cover Art

I wasn't able to find very good quality images of the original discography for Faithless' 'To All New Arrivals', however I feel that these pictures are good enough to catch a gist of what I was actually copying. Synergy is used throughout the discography to create a certain look and style, which I feel has worked very subtley and nicely.

4. Star Image & My Digipak

Star image is incredibly important in the cover art for any release of an album, as it is what essentially sells the product. If you have an enigmatic and visually appealing figure pinned to the front of you CD Case or Digipak it is much more likely to attract the attention of potential buyers than if you don't.

Lana del Rey- Star Quality

A fantastic example of this is the cover art for Lana Del Rey's new album 'Video Games', as she is exquisitely beautiful and possesses a star quality right from the word go, immeditately attracting attention. I find this use of photographing the artist for the initial cover art a fantastic technique for album promotion as it provides it with a personalized touch as you get a really good view of the person who has actually produced the music you are about to purchase. In addition, she is incredibly visually appealing and anybody would be happy to own a photograph of this woman or any attractive star that has created the music you listen to.

Vampire Weekend- Cover Art essentially reflects style and genre of product.

However, due to my song being produced by a band an not a single artist, I will not be photographing a 'star' for my cover art. Instead I will be using images that reflect and link to the content and style of my video, as I am essentially releasing a promotional package of a single and video, not just a mere song. Taking this into consideration I will be producing something a bit like Vampire Weekend's 2007 album, Vampire Weekend, as they are a similar genre and style to 'Daylight' by Matt&Kim.

'Rule of Thirds'

Mock Up of my Cover Art

When photographing my cover art, which at the moment will be the pair of converse shoes, I will have to be incredibly aware of aspects such as light and mise en scene in terms of the placement of subject in the frame. To do this I will be using the rule of thirds. In terms of photography this means that the image is cut up into nine sections allowing me to place my subject in an area that allows the photograph to possess the same amount of interest in all sections. 
Therefore, I have placed the shoes to the centre of the right side of the album. That way, it adds a great deal of space on either side for the rays of sunlight to be viewed, and adds a simplistic essence that appeals to the 'less is more' aspect of my video.

Lighting is key in this photography domain, especially as my single is actually called 'Daylight'. To display an extreme since of light in my cover art I have photographed the shoes against the sun to cast a stong and elongated shadow on the sandy beach. I feel this contrast adds interest to the intial image and ups the quality of it.

Editing is absolutely vital, as a vintage tone in the video calls for a vintage tone throughout my promotion package, as continuity is essential in the advertisement of my product. Although each image will be different, I must make sure the editing process is the exact same to attain an identical shade and tone on every image.

All photographs are and will be taken on my SLR camera to ensure quality and clarity in every single image.
                                                       

3. CD Case .vs. Digipak

Digipaks are initially cases which hold in CDs consisting 6 panel cardboard sides that fold into themselves in a book style fashion. They are among the first alternatives to 'Jewel Cases' which is the two sided plastic CD case that we see today. They are more commonly used to hold special edition versions of CD's and DVD's as a premium package due to their capacity of transmitting much more information as they consist of the six panels as opposed to just two. Although Jewel Cases allow a section for a pamphlet of paper displaying additional information on the Artist and their release, it is not as accessible as it is not on visual display like the Digipak. However, Digipaks have remained less popular due to their tendency for wear and tear due to their more destructable cardboard casing, despite their being considered the 'environmentally friendly' version of Jewel Cases. In addition, they are also more expensive to manufacture.

Digipak

Jewel Cases consist of a two sided plastic case that holds and protects the CD. Differing from the information directly displayed on the cardboard panelling of a Digipak, Jewel Cases have section in which information pamphlets are pinned onto the front and back to display the cover art of the album. Although the info is essentially the same, it is much less accessible in a Jewel Case and therefore not as visually appealing as a Digipak.

CD Case

In My Opinion... there is more value to a Digipak, and I have several reasonings for this. First and foremost I feel they are much more visually appealing as they do not only contain the product, but come as an actual package that promotes the image and style of the band as the casing allows for more images and information about the actual CD. Taking this into consideration, the Digipak to me is more of a collectable item as opposed to just as casing that holds the product I wish to purchase. By owning one I feel much more inclined to keep it as it is essentially artist memrobelia. Therefore, they have a much stronger opportunity for success as they attract fans of the band or artist that wish to purchase and keep an item that acts as a artist artifact. The 6 sided panelling allows for much more area to promote information and the image of the product, as it is easily displayed and visually appealing. The idea that these cases are rarer is also a great attribute, as people these days like the idea of having a 'special edition' as opposed to something generic. The environmentally friendly aspect of digipaks is also a plus, as it serves as reassurance as although people are essentially consuming whilst purchasing the item, they are actually helping the environment in addition.

What I Will Have To Include In My Digipaks...

* Artist Name
* Song Names
* Album Name
* Image of Band
* Series of images that reflect the style and content of my video
* Copyright label
* Credits
* Record Company
* Lyrics
* Barcode
* Disc Holder
* Cover Art
* And of course synergy in all my editing, fonts and style throughout the entire package to create a sense of 'branding' for my product.

2. Font Experimentation

Font is a vital element for the presentation of the marketing package I will be developing as it is the aesthetic aspect of the information we are initially conveying. Without an eye catching font it becomes close to impossible to attract attention to the digipak or advertisement that will be displaying my single. In addition, I'll also have to make sure the style reflects the indie pop genre of the song and it's quirky style in order to appeal to my target audience.

Potential Fonts

Potential Fonts

My favourite font so far is definitely the 'digital', as it is relatively unique in the sense that I haven't seen many indie pop albums using it in their presentation. It also relates to the clocks stop motion section of my video as well as reflecting the theme of time in the lyrics about the 'Daylight'.

However, I also quite like the handwritten options as they insert a personal element into the design, appealing to it's quirkier aspects.

Algerian and Rosewood STD are good options for my font as they possess a certain vintage element that is already explored throughout the editing in my video during the beach scenes. Similarly, to the handwritten fonts, these are quite stylized, thus linking to the independent style.

Taking all of these fonts into consideration, there is one crucial step that I will have to remember and that is continuity throughout the entire marketing project, as this will strengthen my product and what I am trying to sell. Much like The White Stripes and their black, red and white colour scheme featured in all their advertisements, promotion packages and advertisements, I'd like to develop a distinct look for instant recognition. 

1. Investigate how musicians promote themselves

After finishing my final edit of Daylight I now need to come up with a marketing package in order to distribute it accordingly in relation to it's genre, style and target audience. In order to get the know how, I will now investigate how a similar band, The White Stripes, promoted and exhibited their latest album release; Icky Thump.

The White Stripes- Icky Thump on Prezi