The CD cover of Rihanna’s album ‘Loud’ is very simple but
effective. On the front it simply has a photo of her, her name, the name of the
album and the sticker ‘parental advisory’; this is conventional in terms of
what would be on the front cover. The parental advisory sticker is something
that instigates what the music is and will be about, it also stops young
children who shouldn’t be listening to the blasphemy; it also lets us know what
kind of images that will be on the inside.
The lettering and font in this are very thin and plain,
which is not something you would expect from her. You would expect her to have
her trademark ‘R’ for the beginning of her name that she always usually uses,
which shows the edgy side to her, however, it is apparent that she has chosen
not to within this cover, I think it is because it could possibly take away
from the image we’re seeing. The font is nicely spaced out and written in white
to show her innocence, the font kind of looks as though it’s trying to stay out
the way of distracting it from the image. The font is very simple and thin, and
is written in capitals to make it more of a statement, but the fact it is so
small and thin, makes it seem a lot softer. The lettering and font does however
go with the genre of pop. Rihanna’s name is written in the smaller font above
her head and the title of the album is written in larger font, this is because
people generally know who she is without having to read her name, they can tell
instantly from the picture who it is, however it is a convention to have her
name on there. The album title is at the bottom in bigger font as it is likely
that they won’t know the title so this will show them.
The image on the front cover is conventionally of the artist
herself. It is a close up of her face, she’s wearing a lot of make-up but is
done in a way that it seems as though she is only wearing a bit of eye make-up
and lipstick, her skin is made to look flawless, which young girls aspire to
have, the use of false eyelashes and eyeliner to give the definition to her
eyes, which are unconventionally closed, but in a way that is not overly
dramatic. She is also wearing a really strong red lipstick which connotes
passion and lust, which is complimented by the shut eye picture and the red
curly hair that gently brushes her face. The lighting is done so that a shadow
is cast beneath her chin, and the lighting itself is very warm, all of this
gives that sexual look that she was no doubt going for, this will entice men
but will also keep her female fan base together as they want to be like her.
The fact that she is not giving direct address through eye contact shows that
she doesn’t need to do this to retrieve her audience, because she is such a
big, well known star. The image on the actual CD is also of a pink flower, this
could connote her innocence, however the music on the record actually go
against that, so instead it could be that her innocence has already been taken.
This is definitely the kind of image you would expect to see
on the cover of the CD digipak, the constructed glamour and sex appeal that
anyone would expect of it is there. The make-up and hair is used in such a way
to portray this person and their image. Rihanna kind of follows within the
footsteps of Madonna, in the sense that every CD/Album she produces, she
constitutes a different look, which shows her as a growing artist, but along
with that look, comes music that fits it, so she is constantly evolving and
adapting to keep herself at the top in her business and this is seen through
this cover.
The artist is represented in a very sexual manner, this is
something that is so stereotypical of female singers, they use their bodies and
looks to promote themselves as well as their voices, it is often that this is
reinforces again and again with female singers, which it clearly has been here.
Rihanna in these photo’s uses minimalistic clothing, lots of make-up and
certain body positions to make herself more appealing, in particularly to men,
but also to her aspiring female fan base.
The people that will buy this CD are mainly people who like
and listen to main stream music, however Rihanna is a very versatile artist and
a lot of different genres of music do like what she does, so she can pick up
sales that way too, especially from the photos that she puts on her covers to
intrigue her audience. It is mainly younger adults that are likely to buy this,
mainly because of the age restriction, so from the ages of 16-25. These people
will listen to it as it is something that they feel helps them to gain a sense
of their own identity, but also helps them to feel a closer connection with the
person that they admire so much; the artist. It is also likely because it is
‘mainstream’, that if a young girl sees her friend, or someone else with it, she
is going to want it too.
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