Myspace Pages and the like

Just a few links to website designs I've done before that may be cool for inspiration maybe?

http://www.myspace.com/wwtwuk
http://whowatchesthewatchmen.bigcartel.com/
http://www.myspace.com/ibreathefirescreamo

Project Artwork Idea

For all images if you want to look at them in more detail, click on the picture.

Here are some artwork ideas for our Project band. We all agreed that seeing as this genre of music seems to inspire a whole crazy load of nautical based band names, if we're meant to stick to stereotypes we should follow suit. One that I suggested is Tear Down The Flagship, that the others quite like, so we'll have to see if it sticks!

The pictures show my artwork design for the logo and how I made it. The first picture shows how I made the band title itself.

1. Started with plain text, three different fonts for each section of the title; "Tear Down" "The" "Flagship". These were plain black.
2. Grouped the text together so it was all one image. Added a scratch filter to the text to make it look worn out (typical hardcore band style thing to do).
3. Created a drop shadow to the bottom right of the image and changed the font to a turquoise like colour that I thought quite sea-like.
4. Combined the text and shadow for the final Band Font layout.

Next I created the images to go with the logo. I decided on an anchor and a squid/kraken. To make these I found black and white pencil drawings of both online. Next I added a full contrast and low brightness setting to each making it simply a black and white outline image, getting rid of all shading. I then individually coloured each section adding in shades and zooming in to get individual frames to make sure the colour was full and vibrant. However with the style of music in hand I went for a more low saturation style colour scheme. The red is meant to be a contrast to the logos colour. I then added the same Drop Shadow to each picture as on the logo.

After this I combined the two objects together. I cut the anchor in half and stuck one half in a layer above the logo, and one below. This allowed me to put the anchor through the "A" to make an individual and outstanding Logo.

I think the logo works quite well and fits the genre of music we are aiming to market with our project.

Previous Album Artwork Designs

I thought after seeing Simon's blog post on Album Art I'd look in my vault of treasures at some of the artwork I've done in the past for my own bands/projects.

The first bit of artwork to talk about is my Acoustic Solo Project Discography made up of loads of random singles and EPs all with individual covers. They all have quite calming covers are are pretty simple, usually with lots of smooth patterns and just a title and small picture.

This then leads onto my album design, where I went for a bit more of an indie feel, but still sticking to the warm, glowing, colour scheme. The whole album art is based around an orange colour scheme and some pictures I took at Hyde Park. They are all of nature and scenery as it is quite natural music, trying to avoid digital and electric instruments. This is an example of making artwork that brands the artist and suits the mood of the genre. Also with the Projects name being "Eternal Sunshine" I thought the orange and yellow scheme appropriate along with the solar flare on each page of the in-sleeve.

Next is my old band I Breathe Fire, a Pop Punk/Screamo band. The image is a lot sharper and there are not so many smooth edges. We decided to stick with the bands name as the Artwork theme seeing as it was a self titled EP. The album art is all based around parchment and fire, and the effect round the edges makes it look like the fire is burning through the cover. We decided to use the same pattern and back drop for the in-sleeve using a simple plain font not to over complicate the graphics.



The last bit of Artwork is for my most recent band "Who Watches The Watchmen" (named after a quote from the 1980s Graphic Novel and recent Film). We didn't want to be associated too much with the original branded product but stuck to the red and yellow colour scheme of the comic book. Also the exploding clock was our own creation of the Doomsday Clock that appears throughout "Watchmen". The background is a simple red and white gradient with a scratch filter on it to make it look worn away. The Band name is organised in an odd pattern to make it memorable and stand out. There is also a slight shadow round the edges of the clock and the band logo to make them stand out from the layers below.

Just thought this could be a nice inspiration post on the sort of Artwork I like to create and later when we show our favourite Album Art, I can go back and compare how I've been inspired myself.

Music Industry Marketing HW

1. Summarising in your own words what the 4Ps of music marketing are. Use the following categories:

a) What band/artist related products can audiences buy?
Other than the obvious of CDs, and Deluxe Editions of CDs, there are DVDs (often Live or documentary). band merch including t-shirts, bags, outerwear, shorts, hats, shoes, the like. Posters, some artists do biographies. Digital media like mp3 albums, music videos, podcasts.

b) Where can audiences buy/listen to music/merchandise/hardware?
Audiences can buy in physical format (Disc) from music shops (e.g. HMV, the late Zavvi), online from sites (like Amazon.co.uk, Play.com), General Stores like W.H.Smith sell CDs. You can buy music in digital format from iTunes, also sites like Amazon sell MP3 albums. Merchandise can be bought at live shows (including CDs) or on the bands personal merch store, often linked to from their personal site (such as myspace/facebook).

c) Give 2 or 3 examples of paid-for/subscription based and free products.
Free downloads off of the bands site. Mailing lists (such as Metallica's "Metal Militia" which shows the progression from physical mailing to digital mailing).

d) List between 5 and 10 examples of creative music marketing strategies (including at least 3 internet based examples).

Slipknot - Before world tour 2008, posted videos on their websites promoting the tour in their typical stage costume telling fans to "be scared", "be warned" and "don't come to this tour". Form of reverse psychology.
Muse - New single "United States of Eurasia", put USB sticks in capital cities of the world with sections of the song in. Fans had to find the USB sticks and post the clip online so that eventually the whole song would be pieced together. Promotes them of album/song and also gets fans involved.
Architects/Elliot Minor/Your Demise - Get fans in music video. 15 seconds of fame principle. Fans feel involved with the music and the band. Band can get away with not really showing anyone in it but the fans feel like they have a personal connection to the video, song, band. Fans will tell friends about the video, good promotion.
Saosin - Send in text messages to a number, your name posted on the album artwork in the thankyous. Bit rubbish really, could hardly see your name as so many people texted in. Still feel part of the production and connected to the band.
Radiohead - Album, In Rainbows. Sold online as an auction style thing. Fans pay what they want for the album (or free). Their best selling album of all time. Fans can relate to bands anti-establishment style attitude through their choice to sell independently.


2. Who is frukt uk and what is their mission statement/company ethos?
"We’re all about music and are really very fond of it. Music colours people’s everyday lives. It’s found in the mundane and the exalted. It moves us all. And it’s thriving. We help brands access the passion and the communities, the lifestyle and the artists. Music is a vast cultural space - it's flexible, it's multi-channel, it's live and digital, it unites gender, race and age and it defines the spirit of generations.

You just need to know how to use it.

That’s where we come in."

Frukt come up with marketing strategies based around music and use them for bands or products and create case studies out of them.

Dizzee Rascal Marketing Task

1. Summarise the changing image of the band/artist as it has developed over time. It might also be useful to summarise the music genre also.

Dizzee has progressed from a grime genre, and is now seen as a garage/hip hop mix. He has incorporated more dance inspiration as seen in his collaborations with such artists as Calvin Harris, Arctic Monkeys and his support slot on his recent tour with The Prodigy. He has gone from being an independent to a more mainstream sound. This has expanded his fan base to more than just his original demographic of hip hop youths in London town. He has been quoted as saying he is “leaving his grime roots behind” in favour of more mainstream pop.


2. Who are the fans? Do you have any sense of how the music companies have segmented the audiences? To what extent has the branding of a band been linked to target audience?

The hip hop and grime genre has a history of a predominately black fan base. This is due to most of the artists being black themselves and that they come from similar social and class background, thus appealing to the demographic. They are like local heroes in a way. However, with the genres becoming increasingly more mainstream, the audience is becoming a much more mixed bag. This can be related to the more frequent appearance of rap artists in festivals, and the charts, thus making them more accessible for a larger, more mainstream audience.

In this case, the record company is Dizzee himself, as he produces and records his own songs and albums on his record label “Dirtee Stank”. This means that he is in complete control of how he brands himself and how he appeals to his audience, which he does through his genre and fashion.

By producing all his own music, Dizzee, or as I like to call him, Mr. Rascal, has stayed true to his independent roots by not relying on some fancy pants record company.


3. What marketing strategies can you identify? What kinds of stategies can you list? (above/below-the line? unexpected promo stunts? etc). List any examples of the use of synergy with other industries to promote other media/products in connection with a band/artist.

Dizzee’s first album, “Boy in da Corner”, was the first rap album to win a Mercury Prize. It has been voted one of the top albums of all time by MTV Base. This shows how Dizzee has embraced his grime culture and mixed it with mainstream to produce an album that was marketable to more than just the standard rap demographic.
During his time in the Roll Deep crew Dizzee was stabbed six times in a live show due to a rivalry with the So Solid Crew (there was some bottom pinching involved). Although this is obviously bad it brought about a surge of press, getting Dizzee’s relatively unknown status brought in to the limelight. This is akin to the gang rivalries of the 90s seen in West Coast and East Coast rap in the US.

In 2004, Dizzee Rascal made an international endorsement deal with urban brand Eckō and designed his own shoe with Nike in 2005.


4. Add any relevant links to your blog, especially Myspace page/music vids/official websites etc. A couple of illustrations (e.g key web design graphics/album cover photography) would also be useful to add to your blogs.