Digipak Research: Conventions of Album Covers & Magazine Adverts

Conventions of Album Covers:

Front

Peace - Front Album Cover

• The main image on the front cover is usually a photograph of the artist / band or it's an illustrated symbol or image, representing their unique style.
• The name of the artist is often portrayed in a sharp eye catching typeface, making it clear to the audience.
• In terms of colour, for a pop album you would expect bright candy colours whereas for an indie rock album the colours would be particularly dark and dull e.g. black. A simplistic colour scheme is often composed to keep it simple yet effective.
• A bold simplistic font for the album name - the name of the album conventionally has a relation to what the songs are about or the implication / interpretation behind it.
• The font style can also be a representation of the genre of music which the artist or band belongs to.
• Bands often compose an iconic logo on their album to represent them, which they may also use on their promotional material e.g. tour adverts.

Back

Drake - Back Album Cover

• The songs / track list are conventionally listed in a centralised composition.
• Band promotion information e.g. their website.
• The back image typically links to the front image of the album cover.
• Copyright material / issues, to prevent anything be stolen.
• A bar-code is always present on the back cover for purchase and financial purposes.
• The distributor of the album is always listed and commonly have their logo portrayed.
• The year the album was made e.g. 2014.

Inside

• Simplistic image which matches the rest of the album theme.
• Where the CD is placed is often left blank, however some albums have an image or colour shade, which interlaces all of the album together.

Conventions of Magazine Adverts:

• The release date of the album or the phrase "OUT NOW"
• An image of the album cover - promoting it clear to the audience. 
• The name of the band and album are highlighted in a bold font, usually at the top of the page.
• Links to the artist / band social media websites.
• Artist / band website, where the audience can access more information about them.
• Reviews / Ratings of the album, praising it - this encourages the audience to buy it.
• Record label logo.
• Institutional logos of where you will be able to purchase the album (shop/online), for example, iTunes, HMV and Amazon.