What is your gender?
Our questionnaire results discovered that interest in the indie genre is from a predominantly female audience. However, there remains a large amount of male viewers, suggesting that we must cater for all audiences. We can do this through using colours and imagery both genders find appealing. This can be achievable through a simplistic design which does not specifically target a gender such as The 1975’s latest album which uses their iconic box design to attract their audience. The digipak can also attract both genders though including images of males and females on the album cover art, such as London Grammar and Paramore’s covers. This enables all audiences to relate to the band and their message as the viewer is able to identify with them. Laura Mulveys Male and Female Gaze theory can also be applied as the images may be seen as attractive or desirable to an audience, which would entice them further.
What is your age?
The indie rock genre has the ability to attract an audience aged between 15 to 21, however, it can also appeal to viewers older than this. I discovered this through the analysis of key changes of the indie genre where I found that many artists aim their ancillaries and digipaks at older audiences. In order to attract the majority of this audience to our digipak, iconic images and colours of the genre should be used. This will ensure that all fans of the genre are attracted, rather than specific age groups. Examples of this includes the xx’s album cover, where the design and house colours remains consistent across all of their albums. This simplicity has the ability to quickly attract active audiences of all ages who can identify with the iconography of the album. This simplicity is a convention of the indie music genre.
Moreover, Fall Out Boy albums attract audiences from all ages through using young characters, facing mature, adult issues. For example, their Save Rock and Roll album sees two young boys, one is a monk robe and the other smoking. The use of young males would attract a young audience, where as the element of social protest within the album, as conveyed through the cover, will attract an older audience.
Have you ever purchased a digipak?
The vast majority of our audience (71%) have purchased digipak. This informs me that producing a digipak will be essential for the success of our album. Many audiences of the indie genre are encouraged to purchase digipaks due to the exclusive content available on them, such as bonus tracks. An example of this is on The 1975’s self-titled album, which includes five bonus songs when purchased from specific outlets.
Other reasons audiences enjoy digipaks could be due to them wanting to own a physical copy of the album and its content. This includes an infill, many of which contain a message from the band and the song lyrics. This is highly conventional to the genre and could encourage audiences to purchase a copy as it allows the band to interact with the audience through their message. The whole production process is essential to the fans of the genre as they are able to appreciate the artwork and lyrics in a physical product. Many then go on to adopt their visuals into their online presence, which is an example of the uses and gratification theory.
Moreover, sales of albums are encouraged though album signings across the world. The chance to meet the band and purchase a signed copy of the album drives sales and allows a direct relationship to be built between the artist and audience. Examples of this include Foals and James Bay. These various reasons for purchasing a digipak means that the Uses and Gratification theory can be applied.
When thinking about digipaks from the Indie genre, what comes to mind first?
While thinking about digipaks from the indie genre, many respondents think about images of the band. This is highly conventional to album covers from this genre as they are seen across albums such as The Kooks and The Vaccines. Active audiences may want to see this as it allows them to identify the band instantly and form a relationship with them. A passive audience may not take interest in the image of the band at first, but may wish to research further into the band as they gain interest over time, meaning the Cultivation theory can be applied.
Religious imagery is also a popular response from our respondents and suggests that religion and the questioning of religion is a popular theme across the indie genre. However, this is not conventional to digipaks from within the genre, but is common in music videos. Due to this, we will use religious imagery within our music video.
Which codes and conventions of an indie digipak can you identify with?
Respondents reported identifying with all codes and conventions of indie digipaks in our questionnaire. However, the most popular responses were ‘universal colour scheme’ and ‘social media handles’, both with 10 votes.
A universal colour scheme includes using the same house colours across all platforms the band present themselves on, such as on posters, social media and music videos. This encourages a band identity to be created, allowing them to establish their own iconography which can be easily identified. Active audiences will be able to identify with a colour scheme, and may replicate it on their social media platforms in order to express their dedication to the artist, strengthening the relationship between artist and audience. The Neighbourhood is an example of a band that does this as their black and white theme is used across their digipak, Twitter page and music video.
Social media also plays an essential role in connecting audiences with the artist and is why it is desired by my questionnaire respondents. The ability for audiences to connect in this way is a modern trend, and is expected by active audiences of the indie genre. Including social media handles on the digipak invites audiences to communicate with the band, allowing them to feel involved and influential. Many audiences may voice their support of the band through social media, which could grow their following as passive audiences grow more interested in the band and begin to research more about them, allowing the Cultivation theory to be applied.
Which digipak cover do you prefer?
Why have you chosen this digipak cover?
The most popular album cover was Daughter's Let You Leave, followed closely by The 1975's latest album.
Daughter's Let You Leave denotes a blurred image of a girl with a sepia filter. The typography is sans serif and in a thin font. Comments from respondents who preferred this cover liked the 'brown and yellow colours' and 'woods location' This is unconventional as it is not typical of the indie genre. This progresses the genre by introducing new colours and themes to album artwork. This could be why it has proven to be a popular choice among respondents who may take interest to the cover. The dark, autumnal colours and blurred image create an enigma which an active audience will want to unravel. This is typical of an indie album cover which entices audiences through mystery and enigma codes. This is also seen true in Arcade Fire's Suburbs album.
The 1975's newest album uses the same, iconic imagery from it first album which rose to success within the indie genre. The colour scheme across the two albums is the only difference. This has the ability to attract their audience quickly as they will already identify with the album cover, associating it with the band. Comments from respondents who preferred The 1975's album mentioned liking its 'simplicity' and 'neon lighting'. The simplistic design is a common theme within the indie genre, and is seen in album artwork from artists such as Foster the People and The xx. The following of this convention will attract an indie audience. The neon lighting is a lighting effect adopted by The 1975 and is used across their social media sites and album artwork. This aesthetic is easily reproduced by fans, allowing them to interact with the band use this to announce their support for the band. Because of the positive effect this creates, I will use a common theme across my ancillaries.
Would you prefer a digipak to include song lyrics or the artists message?
The majority of respondents at 64% reported preferring song lyrics rather than a message from the artist in the infill to the digipak. This is highly conventional to digipaks of all genres and has become an expectation for audiences. However, the remaining respondents at 36% wanted to see a message from the artist and desire this direct communication with the artist.
Song lyrics enable the audience to interpret the meaning of the artists songs, enabling them to be debated and discussed amongst active audiences. This causes controversy and allows fans of the band to discuss relevant issues through communicating with each other over social media.
However, the remaining 36% of respondents may use Web 2.0 for the searching of song lyrics and instead, prefer a message from the artist in the digipak infill. This allows direct communication between the artist and the audience which our respondents desire. This could be because active audiences may want to discover more about the artists inspiration and messages behind the album.
What house style (overall colours of the product) would you expect to see on an Indie digipack?
House style on digipaks make them recognisable to the target audience. Respondents reported looking for simple designs and black and white colours. Including these in our digipak will ensure that we target our intended indie audience.
Black and white colour schemes have been used throughout the indie genre, being adopted by artists such as Radiohead and David Bowie and modern artists such as The 1975 and Arctic Monkeys. Due to this, it has become a conventional colour scheme within the indie genre and is almost exclusive to the genre. This means that active audiences would be able to identify the genre after simply glancing at the cover, allowing audiences to be quickly attracted.
Simplicity was also a popular response in our questionnaire, suggesting that the most successful album covers are aesthetically pleasing, rather than overwhelmed with information. This is true for Arctic Monkey's most successful album: AM album which simply featured sound waves in black and white. The success for this album was also contributed to by the popularity of the logo, which became a popular print on t-shirts and posters, allowing the albums promotion to be highly successful.
The vast majority of our audience at 80% preferred digipak covers which are predominantly image, as opposed to text. This is highly conventional within the indie genre and an expectation from modern audiences. Many genres also follow this convention, with artists such as Kanye West from the Hip-Hop genre being the first to subvert it with his Life Of Pablo album.
Audiences like to see images on album covers as they can entice audiences through iconography and symbolism. For example, The 1975 use the same image across their albums to make them instantly identifiable to an audience, and assist in building their brand identity. This is successful as it displays a progression between albums, moving from black and white to light pink. Active audiences will be able to enjoy this change as they feel their support is playing an active role in their development.
Respondents that reported preferring text to images may be able to relate to a genre through
typography, therefore understanding its ideologies. Vampire Weekend are able to do this by using the same font across all of their albums. This entices their fans, as well as active audiences of the indie genre who may be able to identify with them through this typography.
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