Digipak Research

Digipak Research

" Digipaks typically consist of a gatefold (book-style) paperboard or card stock outer binding, with one or more plastic trays capable of holding a CD or DVD attached to the inside.
Since Digipaks were among the first alternatives to jewel cases to be used by major record companies, and because there is no other common name for Digipak-style packaging made by other companies, the term digipak or Digi-Pak is often used generically, even when the media holder is a hub or "Soft Spot" rather than a full plastic tray.
Digipak-style packaging is often used for CD singles or special editions of CD albums and the tall DVD Digipak (DVDigipak) is used as a premium package for DVDs and DVD sets. Such packaging is less resistant to abrasion than jewel cases, so it tends to show signs of wear relatively quickly. Licensed digipak manufacturers such as domestic U.S. printer and disc replicator Oasis Disc Manufacturing recommend coating the raw printed paper with a protective UV coating, thus ensuring greater longevity.
Although less vulnerable to cracking than a jewel case, the disc tray inside the package (particularly the "teeth" of the hub which secure the disc in place) remains rather brittleand is prone to cracking if the package is crushed. Digipak-style cases grew in popularity among record labels and recording artists in the early 2000s. " Source - Wikipedia

Different artists sell themselves in different ways. I analysed 3 artists, Chase and Status, and Disclosure, which are of the same genre as my song, and Beyonce, who is nothing like my music genre.

Magazine Poster Research

Magazine Poster Research

I Googled 'House music Magazines' and many came up, these would be the main magazines that I would be aiming to advertise my artist in. These magazines specialise in the music genre of my artist, and would be the most appropriate for my artist. 
- House 
- till
- MixMag
- VIBE

I would also try to advertise my artist in other magazines such as the ones I listed on my target audience. This would create a larger group who would buy my products, and be better advertising for my artist.

Practising Using Photoshop

For my final piece of A2 coursework, I had to use photoshop to create a poster for my artist and a digipak. In order to use photoshop I needed to practise using it so that I could create my digipak. My teacher taught me the basics of using photoshop, as shown below;

Firstly, I had to choose an image of a setting that would be the background of my practise piece, I chose the beach as it is simple, and the images that were on Google were better quality than other settings. I imported the image to photoshop using an A4 size paper, and placing it onto 'Layer 1', and removing the layer called 'Background'.

Then I had to find a person/ object that would be the focus of my practise piece. I chose J Cole, a

famous rapper, and decided to choose an image with a plain background as this makes it easier to remove the background. I imported this image to photoshop onto 'Layer 2', to ensure that J Cole was onto of the beach rather than hidden behind it. Using the 'Magic Wand Tool', I removed the white background very easily. I then used the 'Eraser Tool' to remove the logo 'GQ'. After this, I was left with an image of J Cole with no background behind him.

After adding font on 'Layer 3', I then finished my basic practise piece.