Ancillary Text (AT): CD cover analysis

Before we can make our album cover we need to do some research into what else is already on the market. This research will allow us to make a product that appeals to our target audience and it will make sure we follow the forms and conventions that are already out there.


Bowling for soup - Sorry for Partyin'

This is the first album cover I have looked at. This cover is by the band Bowling for Soup who are an American pop-punk band. Their music is upbeat and fun loving which is similar to the song we chose to do for our video.

“Sorry for Partyin’” is clearly a sarcastic sorry this is further shown by the use of anchorage. The band are jumping into a pool with enthusiastic expressions. The juxtaposition of the image and the title shows the sarcasm. The name of the album also relates to their target audience. Bowling for Soup’s target audience would be a age group of around 16-24. This age group is the age that is most likely to be going out and partying. They are also the age group that will have the most ‘don’t care’ attitude towards peoples opinions to partying which is why the album name relates to them so much.

The most notable thing about this CD cover is how bright and eye catching it is. This works for several reasons. Firstly when it is in a shop it is an album cover that will stand out and catch a persons attention. By having a colourful interesting front cover it will grab peoples interest which will help to promote sales. Another reason for the brightness and boldness of the cover is because it echoes the music and the band. The music is very upbeat, fun loving and feel good this is shown by the fun cover. The personality of the band is also shown by the boldness, it shows that they are a lively band.

The bands name is the header of the cover and is in a bold bright text. This enables a person to see clearly what the CD is and allows them to find it easily in a record store.


"Sorry for Partyin'" features a contraction which gives the name an informal relaxed nature. This appeals to the target audience because it is how they talk. Many 16-24 years olds, their target audience, talk in a relaxed way such as what is shown here. This helps to relate to their audience.

The main colours that are used on the album are yellow, red and blue. These colours are mainly gender neutral which could show that the music can appeal to both genders. The colours are very bright and have connotations of happiness, such as the yellow, and exciting happy times such as the red and blue.

The image shows the band in their trunks. This exposes their tattoos which can say a lot about the type of music and type of band that they are. As all the band are heavily tattooed, and many have beards, it could say that their music is of a rock genre or of a heavy nature.
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The Used - In Love and Death

The Used are very different from Feeder, they are an American alternative rock band. I looked at this album cover because the style is very different and it shows a different take on how to create an album cover.

The overall look of the album cover is of a dark depressing nature. It is also of a very artistic nature which could represent what the musicians feel about their music.

The illustration represents, quite literally, the name of the album “In Love and Death”. It shows a heart, representing love, been hung from a tree, which represents death. The illustration could show the bands feeling towards love, it could give an idea to the type of music they produce or it could be an exploration of how love and death is entwined.

The lack of colour could be there for several reasons. Firstly it can be purely for aesthetics, the ink drawing looks really striking in black and white and colour would have ruined this effect. It also allows the heart, that is the only colour on the cover, to stand out more. It directs the audiences gaze and empathises that this is the main part on the album. Another reason for the like of colour could be to show that their music has no gender relation and can appeal to both.

The bands name has been printed on the cover to look as though it has just been hand written over the drawing. This carries on the illustration inky look of cover as well as making it look like the band has drawn the image and then signed their name over the top. The artistic vibe that is given off from this cover could show that they are very serious about their music and the dark themes of the cover could represent that they touch upon some darker subjects within their music and lyrics. This tells the audience what they are going to get from the album.

“In Love and Death” is printed in a very small, curled font. It is very discrete and at a first glance it seems unnoticeable. This could be because they want the illustration to do the talking as it explains more about the album. It could also because for aesthetic purposes, it looks good smaller, allowing the image to use most of the room that is on the cover.

A parental advisory sticker has been placed on the album. This is for reasons out of the bands control but since it is there is says a lot about the band and music. It shows that the band are not afraid to shock with their lyrics and will sing about what they like if it fits with a song. It also shows the type of audience they are aiming at. Obviously a younger generation are not been targeted because of the content of the lyrics.
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After looking at two completely different designs I am going to look at album artwork that is of the nature of the song we are doing. Feeder are a mainstream British rock band. The album artwork below is from several British bands that fit in the same genre as Feeder and are usually aimed 16-24 year olds, which is what we have aimed our video at.



The two albums above are from Coldplay (top) and Oasis (bottom). These two albums show a he tic, artistic look that could be approached. This is a very complicated look and this could represent to the level of depth in the song or subject matter. This style is too heavy for what we want to create, which is fun and upbeat.




The two albums above are of a more simpler sense. Snowpatrol (top) and Arctic Monkeys (bottom) feature simpler designs but with an artistic twist. Snowpatrol's album is very interesting because it is the texture and detail that are the main focus of the artwork. The actual picture is very simple. The Arctic Monkeys cover works in a similar way, the most interesting part of the cover is again the pattern which has been cut to look like windows. Both of these dessigns take complex art and cut them into simple shapes.



The top album is an an original feeder album cover. Thebottom is Stereophonics cover. These album covers attract my attention because they are simple yet striking. The colours on the Stereophonics album instantly catch your eye where as the power and striking pose of the bird attract you to the Feeder cover. From these covers we will take inspiration of simplicity and letting an image do the talking rather than over complicating a design.

From the research we have learnt that simplicity can work really well and it is a style that we are going to try. We have also seen that bands are often not included on the artwork. One reason for this is that bands want their artwork to enhance their message their music is giving off and by using anchorage this can be achieved.