Digipak Analysis

Once defining what a Digipak actually is, I then went on to analyse some of my own Digipak's to help with the identification and recognition of the different conventions of genres and type of artists and recognising how the artist may interact with their fanbase through the design of their Digipak etc.

Justin Bieber: Believe (2012)
The first Digipak which I analysed was Justin Bieber; 'Believe' which was released in 2012. Justin Bieber is a pop artist with a young female target audience. Believe is the third studio album from Bieber and was released 15 June 2012 under Island Records. Believe was the sixth global best-selling album of 2012 with sales of three million copies.

Whilst analysing this Digipak I noticed that his face played a very dominant part of the front cover, perhaps due to attracting and pleasing his young fans with his good looks. The full analysis of this Digipak is featured in the overall analysis of all three of these Digipaks at the bottom, which can be displayed on Prezi.

This Digipak opens up and inside the middle pannel of the Digipak an insert booklet can be found which features a whole ton of photos from the album photoshoot. This is an interesting use of the booklet because most insert booklets will usually feature lyrics or content, however this booklet only features photos. This further stresses the importance of the fanbase and perhaps also the way in which Justin Bieber and his record label hope to sell his album and through audience research know that his fans would prefer to look at exclusive photos of him than read the lyrics of the songs on the album etc.
The Digipak also comes with a six-pannel fold out poster for his fans to enjoy and maybe put it on their bedroom wall. This shows that there is a more personal connection between the artist and the fans and it also emphasises that this is a pop album aimed for young female girls.



All Time Low: Don't Panic (2012)
Don't Panic is the fifth studio album by American pop punk band All Time Low, released on 8 October 2012 by Hopeless Records.

The second Digipak I devided to analyse was All Time Low; 'Don't Panic'. All Time Low are a pop-punk artist with a rather varied target audience, but majority being female and probably age ranging between 15 - 25. This Digipak differs quite a bit from the Justin Bieber Digipak that I had previously analysed. The reason I think this is might be due to the different genre of music and the different type of target audience, therefore the band will try and produce a product fit for their target audience and not Justin Bieber's target audience, therefore it is not much of a surprise that they are different.

An interesting aspect of this Digipak is that not once is there a photo of the band, the only replica of their images is a cartoon drawing, which fits in with the flowing theme of cartoon and animation. This also strengthens the idea that this artist does not rely on their image for their sales or to please their fans. Unlike Justin Bieber, who can use his good looks to his advantage and therefore fans would be dissapointed if he was not pictured on his album. Whereas the older fanbase of All Time Low will probably be more interested in the songs on the album than looking at their pictures in their album.



One Direction: Midnight Memories (2013)

Midnight Memories is the third studio album by boyband; One Direction and was released on 25 November 2013 by Syco Music and Sony Music. The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, making One Direction the first group in history to debut at number one in the US with their first three albums. Despite being released five weeks before the end of 2013, Midnight Memories still managed to become the best-selling album of 2013 with sales of four million copies.

This is the third Digipak which I decided to analyse. One Direction are a pop boyband which also have a young female target audience, however they also attract many older females. This Digipak is however slightly different to the other two Digipak's that I have analysed. This is because this Digipak is almost like a mini book and is made with a much more solid material, whereas the Bieber and All Time Low Digipak's were made with a strong cardboard. The 1D Digipak opens up with the CD disk on the first page, and then the booklet carries on to view different pictures of the band from the album photoshoot, behind the scenes photos from events over the past year and also a double spread fan collage page, which shows that the band have a close connection with their fanbase.




Through looking at different artists and their Digipaks I have learnt that although I have defined what a Digipak is, I believe that their is no definition to Digipaks. Digipaks can come in any shape, size or material and can be essentially whatever platform the artist is willing to release their album onto. It does seem that the traditional Jewel Case type CD is still widely used, yet the Digipak has become far more popular in recent years. Many artists nowadays will release two different versions of their album - a standard version and a deluxe version - and often artists will release the standard version in Jewel Case format whilst the deluxe edition will be released in Digipak format.