CD front covers....

As I have already posted, many bands have their own personal logos to help create their identity and make them widely known. Bands also use their CD covers the create their image and enforce it, this is why you often find artists from the same genre have the same sort of CD covers!

A prime example of this is the typical boy band CD cover (shown above and below) with the band posing in front of an outside back drop. As you can see in the Boyzone cover they were often action shots with the band walking to the camera, these types of shots mirror the music the band produce, which is corny, sloppy and designed for young teens. As teenage heart throbs the bands have purposefully designed their album covers so that young girls can see the band on the front and be enticed into buying it. On top of this as boy band like Boyzone have a very large target audience from children to grandmas the album have to be user friendly unlike 50Cents album (below) which is designed to be risky and 'hardcore!'

The Backstreet Boys album cover depicts the band as very heavenly and enduring as they are wearing white shirts over the black signifying their outward innocence. The contrast is also quite high making their faces seem infallible and gives them a slight glow like angels. the dirty weathered look of their surroundings contrasts with their whiter than white shirts and makes the band seem more real and human. Another common theme with boy band albums is that they are often unnamed with the album only bearing the bands name/logo this keeps it nice and simple and also leaves more room to have the name large and imposing as shown above. The crisp slanted writing adds impact to the words because in making it 3D with a shadow effect gives the impression of a Hollywood blockbuster giving a bang. The black to white fade on the title also keeps in with the monochrome feel off the cover which juxtaposes black and white like bad and good, making the album contradict itself and appeal to a wider audience with those after sweetness and light and those after a little bit of rebellion.


In contrast with the Backstreet Boys, Boyzone were very successful and have even begun making a popular comeback. This album was made shortly before they announced their split and so is less mainstream than that of the backstreet boys although it does bear the same signifiers of the posing action shot and the matching outfits although there seems to be more freedom with their attire as the man on the end is wearing a leather coat and matching trousers. The layout of the band members is also strategic in this, as Ronan Keating the main singer is placed at the front with the second main singer in the forefront as well, with the other three walking behind.

I picked this album because its completely different to both the boy bands and 50Cents. One main reason for this could be that Incubus are an alternative metal/rock band with a hint of funk, similarly their album cover is very alternative and different. The colours of red signifies love/blood and juxtaposed with the vibrant yellow is unsettling making the album seem a little sick so immediately the audience knows that this album is not ordinary. On top of this the title 'A Crow left of the Murder' can be interpreted as a murder is the collective term for a group of crows so a crow left of the murder in that sense would mean rebelling against the norm, which fits in perfectly with incubus's music. This CD front cover perfectly describes the type of music held within and the bands general thesis.
This front cover from 50cent is different yet again from the others i have shown you and this is because of the completely separate ends of the music spectrum they all occupy. The 'hard man' image portrayed here fits in with the rap genre of music and also with his self styled image in which he has been shot nine times, hence the bullet/vandalised hole in the glass before him, perfectly framing the cross chain creating a conflicting image of peace and conflict, this is mirrored in his music, lyrics and film. On top of this the red background signifies violence and blood, which also fits in with the title of the album, 'Get Rich or Die Tryin', this is written in an elegant font that is often used in tattoos. The phrasing sounds like a motto and as far as motto's go this is very materialistic. This point of view contrasts with his lack of clothes but matches perfectly the huge watch and designer belt. Overall this album cover is typical of the Rap genre with little experimentation, violence and the artist posing.