Album Cover Analysis

• This is the album cover for ‘Umbrella’ by Rihanna.

• Rihanna is portrayed in a sexual and seductive manner which is factored by several different aspects. She is seen to be wearing very minimal clothing that leaves little to the imagination for the male audience; flaunting tight hot pants, a low cut top and high leather boots that accentuates her bare legs that shine in the camera light and the sexual connotation of her character.

• Rihanna’s posture enforces her feministic figure that allows the audience to see her slim and curvy body, her slender, tanned legs and her breasts that are pushed out towards the camera. The arm that she has behind her head suggests that she is seeking attention and marking her presence within the picture which adds more to the sexual aura that is portrayed.

• The water jetting behind Rihanna in the picture plays reference to the name of the song ‘Umbrella,’ and adds more to this sensual, seductive character that we can see from the picture.

• It can be argued that the album font is of large contrast to the album cover itself, with the name ‘Rihanna’ spelt in big, red and bold letters that stamps her identity and suggests a degree of sophistication and elegance about her character, as opposed to this less glamorous and ‘easy’ alternative we can see of her in the picture.

Why do artists make music videos?

• There are a number of reasons as to why a music artist would want a music video to be shot in conjunction with a particular song or promotional material; however there is no definitive answer as there is quite a large spectrum of potential reasons behind the question.

• The first, and possibly the most obvious reason, behind why artists make music videos is for the profitable revenue they receive if the video has the assumed success of a typical ‘chart song.’ With technological developments becoming more apparent in today’s world, music videos benefit by having the potential and the ability to be more creative, more abstract and much more real for the audience to view. This allows for a much more efficient use of the artists creative nature, much like that of a film director, making anything possible in a music video.  

• These extravagant and intricate features make for a colossal video to truly express emotion, style, and image and to also give a true visual portrayal of the music itself so that the audience will remember and refer to the song and artist through the video. Naturally, the genre and style of music dictates the type of music video shown; two fine contrasts would be of Indie music and Dance-style music. Indie music is very much stripped back to bare minimum, little effects and portrays a more ‘live’ feel to it whereas music videos associated with Dance music have a large amount of extravagant lighting effects, lots of different camera shots and great user of technology. 

• Of course, the royalties and monetary values behind making a video and the benefits it could potentially give to the artist are monumental; however there is an element of personalisation and stylistic dominance associated with these videos.  

• Amongst a vast number of artifacts in today’s superficial world, fashion plays a huge part in individualistic style and image. This is no different in music videos, with artists flaunting expensive accessories such as clothes, watches, cars and even houses to highlight the artist’s personality. The content within a music video would reflect an artist as a person as opposed to just an audible voice heard from a source. Again, I will use contrasts in genre to pinpoint the differences between style and image across different types of video.

• As mentioned previously, Indie music videos are typically quite stripped back down to barely anything but an artist and the song to provide the live feel to it. Another factor that contributes to this gig-type performance is the clothes that the artists wears, which stereotypically would be skinny chinos, canvas shoes, a trilby hat, a thin vest top and/or a granddad jumper. This makes the video much more down to earth and relative to a large number of young people in society, as this is currently a trending fashion and is seen to be quite casual and cool, reflecting on the nature of Indie music’s minimalism. 

• In contrast to the above, Hip Hop music is at the opposite end of the spectrum and typically includes a largely over-exaggerated lifestyle including expensive articles; typically large diamond jewellery, pristine trainers and over-sized clothing typical of many cultures in modern America. The nature behind these videos is to portray how money can buy you everything you want, and even shows a degree of attention-seeking from that particular artist so that the world can see how well music pays; thus deluding the fundamental emotions that many people became involved in music for. 

Analysis of Music Videos

• The music video to the song 'Next to me' by Emeli Sande is very minimalistic and simple, this reflects the ballad genre of the song. The music video shows the artist playing on the piano, this portrays a good image of the artist, and shows them to be talented, and a credible star. It also shows the artists lack of need for big productions as a support.

• The music video is set in a big empty warehouse. The emptiness and space in the warehouse emphasises her big, strong vocals, as her voice fills the space. This makes her more credible to her audience, and makes her more likeable. The use of a large warehouse is also very minimalistic and one would not link with money, fame and stardom- this could suggest that the artist wanted to be represented as down to earth, and wanted the audience to relate to the realism in the video and song.

• In the video the lights are on at the beginning, this reflects the big vocals of the song, and the lighting works well with withe audio, because as the sound is louder and bigger, the lights seem to reflect and co-inside and seem stronger. However the lights then gradually all switch off, and a spotlight is put on the artist and her drummer. This emphasises the artists talent on the piano, and also shows the purity, realism and raw nature of the song. 

• The camera cuts to the Artist Emeli Sande on a white background of newspaper clippings. The white background contrasts to the darkness shown in the video in the previous shots. The newspaper clippings could be media coverage of the artist herself, thus expressing her popularity to the audience. It also shows simplicity, and represents her as a pure, innocent character against a pure white background. The artists image is quite quirky in this shot- with her unusual, retro style of haircut, and her blue roll neck jumper, it does not reflect a stereotypical feminine picture. The different shots in the various settings in the video could have been used to express different aspects of her personality, that have also been expressed in the lyrics of he song.

I have noticed in the video that all the cross cuts are gentle fades, which represents the ballad genre of the song, and fits with the lyrics. 

The camera shots are varied throughout, but primarily aim to show the artist Emeli Sande, and reveal her talents singing alone in a big warehouse, and playing the piano. The camera shots also emphasise the space and emptiness of the warehouse to perhaps make the audience admire the artists ability to fill a big space with her vocals. 

The lighting is used effectively to represent different aspects of the song, and the lighting is well linked with the audio aspect of the song. 

Album Cover Work


Album covers are used to portray a certain desired image of that Artist. The image usually always relates to the genre of music included in that album.
For example:

This is 50 Cents album cover for 'Before I Self Destruct.' The cover represents a typical 'Gangster' image. He has no t-shirt on, this shows his muscles and his sheer size, creating a scary, harsh image of the character. One can see big tribal tattoo's along his arms, portraying a rough, 'hard guy' image. He wears a flat cap, which is typically indicative of that 'Chavy' 'Gangster' image. This point is then further expressed because he has the cap on side ways, which could suggest a degree of rebellious attitude and not wanting to conform. His eyes are directed at the lens, challenging the audience and causing a scary, piercing look. His facial expression is stern and serious, making him seem un-approachable and tough. However he is wearing a necklace with a cross on, which shows religious connotations, and this fits with the 'prayer' like hand positions, which portrays a degree of softness and innocence. The album's text artwork relates to the artists image. The words '50 CENT' are in capitals and stand out on the page, this is important as it is the artists show name. However it also creates a bold, scary, tough effect, with relates to the gangster image of the artist. The name of the album is below the artists name: 'BEFORE I SELF DESTRUCT' the text is also in capitals to stand out, however the font chosen looks like a graffiti style, this relates to the artists image, and further suggests rebellious attitudes. At the bottom, right hand corner of the album cover, there is a 'Parental Advisory' stamp- this represents the inappropriate content of the album, and further emphasises the rebellious, hard character image of 50 Cent.

Artists as texts

Artists image is very important for the success of their marketing. The image a certain artist represents varies depending on the song and the artists current situation in the media.

In this photo the artist Katy Perry expresses herself in a sexual manner. She doesn't have a top or bra on, this makes her look provocative and sexy. Her dark black hair falls on her paler skin, making an effective contrast and grabbing the viewer's attention. Her necklace hangs down between her breasts, averting the viewers attention to this area, thus emphasising the sexual nature of the picture. However the necklace has crosses on, which could suggest a religious connotation, and the nudity could also express purity and realism. Her eyes are directed straight into the camera lens, making the photo more personal, but also more seductive and challenging for the audience to view. She is holding her breast with her left hand and covering the other with her arm, this could show a degree of innocence and self dignity to still want to cover up, however it could also suggest further sexual connotations, perhaps "teasing," primarily the male audience- thus attracting them to her image.

This photo is of the same female artist, Katy Perry, however it represents an entirely different image. In the picture Katy has her hair scraped back at the sides, pulling it away from her face, this exentuates her bone structure, creating a more pretty, and beautiful image. She has a pink flower clipped in her hair, this makes her seem girly and more child-like, thus portraying innocence. Her breasts and cleavage are covered by a practical blouse, this makes her seem proper and decent. Her pink lipstick makes her girly, and gives a casual overall image, suggesting an angelic personality. However, her eyes are directed straight into the lens, this could suggest a degree of seduction, although in this image it adds a more personal touch, enabling girls to relate to her as a person.

This again is a photo of Katy Perry. The photo is of her at a red carpet event. This makes the picture quite fake, however not so manufactured as her image hasn't been altered for the shot. Her hair is quite scruffy and hasn't been perfectly styled, creating quite a down to earth, innocent effect. Her makeup is very minimalistic, making her appear pure and natural.  However her big hoop earrings create a more 'tampered with' look, making a more sexual image. Her arms and chest are bare, creating a sultry and seductive representation. Her top is leopard print, which has sexual connotations. Although her bare skin makes her seem seductive, it also shows purity, as her skin is oily and shining, it could also suggest good health and overall a realistic portrayal of an 'everyday' person- making the audience relate to her more.