Importance and function of Digipacks to the music industry.

Today in lesson Rebecca asked us three questions and told us to have a disccusion in our group about them. These were the questions:

1)      What is the function of a music video?

2)      Why are digipacks still being produced even tough CD sales are declining?

3)      Why are ancillary products (digipack/advertisement) still important to music industry?

We all then, after discussing with our group, we had to report back to the class our answers. This is what we all decided on:

Function of a digipack:

·        It gives additional information about the artist though use of art work and pictures, which allow more of the personality to come across not only just in their songs, where in many cases nowadays, they didn’t even write it.

·        You see a growth of the artist

·        The most important point, we all thought, us for the use of promotion. Though the use of a digipack the audience get an insight into who the artist is; what’s their genre and what’s their brand. Also through this the artist can generate a wider audience by attracting people for their brand and genre. For example, if didn’t watch X Factor and know who Cher Lloyd is, her didgipack will inform me of who is she; her brand and image, and if I do listen to that type of music I can now listen to her and buy her music.

A example of a good debut digipack

Why are digipacks still being produced even tough CD sales are declining?

• Loyal fans will still go out and buy the digipack to help their artist.
• It could also still being made to compact piracy. Real fans would rather buy than download, so in a digipack they will give more for their money.

·        You get a feeling of exclusivity because you feel as if you’re getting something special and different, which makes it more personal. Whereas if you were to download it illegal you do not get all the other features such as pictures, which then makes it less personal.

·        Your getting more for you money whereas if you were to buy online your only spending money on the song and nothing else.

·        Advertising the brand. The aritist is packed up as if it were a brand. For example Cher Lloyd’s image is a brand. Her music, clothing, music, images, art work etc all fit into one brand.

In this music video, it is very typical of her brand - bright, bubbly, girly etc.

On this album cover her brand is portrayed through use of 

c

louring and clothing, the

font contributes also.

And lastly her clothing

• Lastly, because the audience is getting a hard copy. Those audiences that don’t download illegally or even buy online, do so because the see the hard copy as more valuable and worth more than the digital format. That’s why it’s more impotant now than ever to have good art work.

Kanye West is an artist that focues heavily on the art work in their digipack

Why are ancillary products (digipack/advertisement) still important to music industry?

• Without adverterisments on TV, Radio, Magazines, Newspapers etc. we wouldn’t know about new alerts of that artists such as tour dates, new singles and albums. Even viral marking is being seen as vital in the promotion and distribution of an artist.