Subsidiary Product 1 - CD Covers Analysis of Codes and Conventions

When an artist or band produce the covers for their CD released album they follow several codes and conventions in which every CD covers follow for example, The main title being the band/artist name, the title of the album, main photo for the album then for the back cover of the album they use a bar code, track list for the album, the main photo, distribution logos and possibly the band or artists website.

The main title/masthead which ever cover follows is the band or artists name and this will probably always be the first or second biggest font on the cover as it’s saying to the audience that this album is theirs. They will use this to try and attract the audience to buy the album because if the artist or band are popular then their name will be the biggest font or the most stylish font so that their audience will see it and instantly know that it’s the album they want to buy. As most bands and artists follow this convention some choose not to have their own name on the album and this may be because they’re very popular and if they use their self as the main photo then their audience will already know that this album is the one they want to buy even without having their name on it. The next convention is the title of the album every artist/band has this on their album because its showing their audience a possible brief introduction about the album by giving the album name. The title of the album isn’t very popular on album covers in the sense of attractiveness but it does show the audience that it’s a new album because all the artists/bands albums will have different names. Font colour is also what bands/artists use to express attractiveness because sometimes they use very colourful fonts to catch the eye of their audience however, sometimes the font colour follows the colours of the main photo which provides consistency for the audience. The album title also sometimes provides how the album is trying to be expressed for example sometimes bands/artists will use stylish fonts or unique fonts to what the album is about and this will show their audience a possible genre behind the album. Next is the main photo for the album and this is basically the most important part of the album as it’s the part which is most attractive for the audience as it draws them in to whose album it is and what the album is about. A lot of bands/artists use photos of themselves which instantly shows their audience whose album it is which is a good way to find the album easily in the shops however, it could be seen as boring to use a photo of themselves. So some bands and artists use photos which aren’t themselves and possibly give of what kind of genre the album is.

The back cover of an album has conventions which bands and artists usually all follow the same way. Every album usually has a bar code at either the left or right bottom corner of the cover and the is basically use so that the shops who are selling the album can scan to get the price of the album. The track list for the album is always on the back cover of the album and this gives a very brief insight for the audience for what kind of songs the album will consist of. Even though you can’t physically listen to the songs by their names they still give the audience a sense of meaning behind the songs. Back covers like the front usually always have a main photo in which will cover the whole background of the cover and then the text will overlap in front of the photo. Around the bar code, albums usually have distribution logos which show what record label are distributing the album and their audience will recognise this however, they’re only very small logos as they aren’t very important. Finally near the bar code again the band or artist usually show their website URL so that their audience have a different way to access information and news about he band or artist.

Overall with these codes and conventions it allows people who are buying the albums to instantly know that’s its an album as every band or artist usually follow them.