Album Cover Analysis

George Ezra- Wanted On Voyage

The Writing is on the left hand side of the page. The artist would of purposely done this to automatically attract a buyer. This is because its known we automatically look into the top left corner of an image and then work our way down, By placing the ‘ George Ezra Wanted On Voyage’ in the left corner it will be the first thing a buyer would see and attracted too.Being the Artist’s Debut album this would have been done to tell the buyer about the artist (by his name).The typography is in a bold and clear font, this was done to keep it simple which promotes the album as it is easy to read and attention grabbing.Using font white is also eye catching and can be seen as a pure colour. The idea of it being ‘pure’ could symbolise himself as he is a new artist and could be seen as being ‘pure’ as he hasn't got any baggage or bad press. The idea of it being clean could also reflect the album itself as it doesn’t contain any bad language.

The title ‘Wanted On Voyage’ reflects the songs contained within the album as they are all about his travels and the sights he saw.

The artist is in the centre of the mise en scene mixed within the crowd displayed and is the only person to be facing the camera. When a potential buyer looks at the CD cover this would create eye contact between him (George Ezra) and the customer. By doing this he has created a personal connection to his audience as it self consciously makes the customer feel like he is selling the album to them personally. The camera angle is face onto the artist and the mise en scene. The long shot shows the artists surroundings giving the audience more of an incite than we would if it was close up.

Being surrounded by the crowd the artist is made to stand out by wearing a red shirt which is dominant within the image, this is due to the darken background and the power of the colour. The style of the artists shirt can also display to the audience that the genre of music he creates is folk. All of the crowd is dressed in more neutrals colours to emphasise the artists clothes further. By doing this the artist is presenting himself from within the surrounding crowd, letting new fans and the buyer know who he is. The neutral/plain clothes the group are wearing can also signify the kind of music the artist produces as they are calm and neutral colours are usually seen as calm colours.

The crowd around the artist gives the buyer a taste of what’s on the album, this is because the people are all individuals portraying characters mentioned in songs on the album. For example the song ‘Drawing Board’ mentions going scuba diving and the cover has an image of someone dressed in a scuba divers kit Another song ‘Blind Man In Amsterdam’ is shown my a man who appears to be blind. Through this concept and the songs themselves the artist is showing and telling the listener about the sights he saw whilst on his travels, thus transporting us to his situation when he was there and portraying his feelings.Even though all this is shown to us, the dark shading of the background keeps a sense of mystery to the album and what it contains. This temps buyer to want to purchase it to discover what else is inside. This can also reflect the artists personality as he is seen to be a mystery, this is because he is new to fame and hasn't had information about his personal life and himself present in the media.

The mix of genders and genders seen within the crowd could resemble who his audience is. Therefore he’s presenting that the people who enjoy and his music is for, is a wide range of people; young, old or female or male. It doesn’t mention or have clear sign of which nationality his audience is. However the song titles and there setting ( various countries around Europe) could suggest that its suited to all.

Taylor Swift- 1989The Albums name ‘1989’ is in large writing across the whole album and over the top of the albums image. This makes the title stand out , allowing potential buyers to see what album it is and what it is called easily. The album name is also short, simple and unique so it is easy to remember. Its also linked to the artist as it’s the year she was born. By calling it this the artists close fan’s may know this creating a connection as they may feel special as not everyone will know this.

The mise en scene is portrayed as a polaroid photograph. This makes the album seem more personal and gives the album a vintage feel which also relates to the title of the album as ‘1989’ is a year from the past.All the typography is portrayed to be written. This also creates this personal feel as it could seem/looks like the artist could of written it for the buyer personally. This could influence someone purchasing the album as they may want to experience this feeling and have something which looks like it was written and made by the artist. The written font also could symbolise that’s the songs on the album were written by the artist herself. The effect looks like the polaroid has aged over time relating to how the artist has aged over time ( grown up). The pink and vintage tone to picture suggests that the album is focused for girls. This is due to the stereotype of girls liking pink. The artist may have created this tone to attract girls and her fan base is mainly teenage girls who look up to her. The warm tone also conveys the kind of music on the album as it could be seen as warm as its mainly about love and her feelings.The personal sense the cover has coveys that the actually album will be personal and from the heart.

The writing of the artist name is smaller than the actual name of the album and is in the bottom left corner which isn’t the first thing you would look at on the cover. This is unusual for an artist as the cover is usually try to show of the artist more than this album cover is. This is able to be done as the artist is quite big in the media and has a large fan base across the world. The simple layout makes the elements on the cover stand out more than if it was busy. The letters D.L.X means deluxe, representing that this album is the ‘deluxe’ album. Therefore its showing the audience that it will contain more than the usual CD and they are getting more. In this deluxe album it contains extra tracks and voice memos of what specific songs are about , the making and the background of them. By including these elements and not promoting them too much on the cover, she creates this secrecy to the messages and may make fans who purchase it feel special as its something they will have and know which others wont.

The picture of the artist is unusual as you would normally expect to see the whole image of an artist not just half her face. This enforces the idea that the artist has such a large fan base that they do not need to promote themselves as much as newer artists. Even though she hasn't contained her whole face it its usual for a female indie/pop artist to contain an image of themselves on the cover. By doing this she maybe letting the audience and potential buyer know that she creates music within these genres and if they might like the music or not.

However the artist is still recognised through her classic and signature red lip. The classic red lip also ties into the theme of the cover and the album. This element is even mentioned in the song ‘Style’ which is in the album when it says ‘I got that red lip classic thing you like’.

The artist appears to be wearing a sweater in the image which looks casual suggesting that the album is easy to listen too and that the artist herself is casual and down to earth. This suggests to the audience that the artist is in fact like them and is a normal person. By creating this similarity between a buyer and the artist, customers may like the artist more as they might not see her as just a celebrity.