Screen shots of digipak creation

So far, this is my primary choice for the cover of my digipak.

How have the sales of CD's changed in the last 5 years?

When the first CD was introduced the professionals predicted it to last only 20-25 years, well it is now 25 years later, and I still buy CD's, but will they survive? The last 5 years have been a difficult few years with CD sales dropping quickly and persistently due to an increase in illegal downloads. 2006-2005 saw a drop of more than 25% over 2 years, and 52% in the last 9 years. However Time magazine said not to fear, as 2011 saw a slight increase in sales, over previous years, but don't get too happy as it was only by a slight 1.33%. This slight ncrease is due to Adele's albums incredible sales.

Album Chartweek 4 / 2012 - January 28the top-selling albums according to global
sales figures and national album charts
issue date: January 19, 2012

	1 / 1week 51	Adele - 21 8 XL Recordings - 260.000 - 30 weeks at No.1
	3 / 3week 13	Coldplay - Mylo Xyloto Parlophone / Capitol - 85.000
	2 / 2week 3	Exile - Exile JapanRhythm Zone / Avex Trax Japan - 83.000
	4 / 4week 6	Amy Winehouse - Lioness: Hidden TreasuresIsland - 83.000
	5 / 6week 8	Rihanna - Talk That TalkDef Jam - 70.000
	6 / 12week 6	Black Keys - El Camino Nonesuch - 65.000
	- / -week 7	Snow Patrol - Fallen EmpiresFiction - 56.000 - Largest Sales Increase
	7 / 8week 59	Bruno Mars - Doo-Wops & Hooligans 2 Elektra / Warner Bros. - 53.000
		David Crowder Band - Give Us Rest Or: A Requiem Mass In CSix Steps Records - 52.000 - Hot Shot Debut
	15 / 14week 20	David Guetta - Nothing But The BeatEMI Music - 48.000

 So CDs are now being dwarfed by illegal monsters, how are the artists making their music? There has been an incline in festivals and concerts, also online downloading sites such as itunes.

Here is an exert from The Times Lab Blog:
The Times Labs blog takes a hard look at the data on music sales and live performances and concludes that while the labels' profits might be falling, artists are taking in more money, thanks to the booming growth of live shows. The Times says that they'd like more granular data about who's making all the money from concerts -- is there a category of act that's a real winner here? -- but the trend seems clear. The 21st century music scene is the best world ever for some musicians and music-industry businesses, and the worst for others.

Recreation of existing digipak

My Recreation- Front

Recreation, Middle

This is my recreation of the digipak 'Deleted Scenes From The Cutting Room Floor' by Caro Emerald. Using Photoshop I have matched as close as I can the colour, fonts used and images as the actual digipak. This has really increased my knowledge of photoshop as it has pushed me to try to get things perfect. The final outcome isn't exactly the same as the original, but I feel that it passes!

Recreation- Reverse

Actual Cover

Actual Reverse

Focusing on Star Image

I have been focusing on star image on the album covers, and have been interested to see a prominent links between all photos portraying the artist on the digipak cover. Here I have created a mind map with the rules I discovered must be applied when photographing the 'star' for my digipak.

The difference between a digipak and a CD case

^This is a digipak^

And this is a CD case.

There are a number of differences between the two:
A digipak refers to a certain kind of CD case, the one that I will be designing. It essentially consists of a plastic disc tray that has been glued inside a folded cardboard case. Digipak once referred specifically to the patented digipak packaging but has now become a genericized trademark that is basically used for any cardboard centred CD packaging.
They are made of paper, and despite this they were once considered the environmentally friendly version of CD cases, however they have remained less common due to the fact that they can survive less wear and tear than jewel cases, particularly when they are in the store, ojn top of this they have higher manufacturing costs.

A jewel case/ CD case consists of 3 peices of plastic put together to create a protective case for the disc. The plastic disc pinner is generally the same as in the digipack, yet information about the CD including the case is pinned in to the front of the case, and printed onto separate paper. The back artwork can be held securely in place between the CD and back plastic.

WHY I FEEL THERE IS MORE VALUE ON A DIGIPAK

The digipak has 6 sides, therefore there will be more opportunity for visible artwork, information or promotions. This way the artist has a better chance at attracting potential buyers, such as fans, as they will see the digipak as more than just a disc of music, it is a collectable item as well. In comparison to the jewel case, all of this additional information is easier accessible, the sleeve in a jewel case is easily ripped when removed or put back into the plastic grips, making it unappealing to remove. On a digipak all information is very easily accessible.

WHAT I AM GOING TO NEED TO INCLUDE IN MY DIGIPAK

• The artist name
• The album title
• The names of the songs on the album
• The copyright label
• The record company
• Album credits
• Lyrics?
• Album artwork
• Barcode
• Disc holder



Bat for Lashes Digipak, front and back

Experimentation with Fonts

I have been looking on Word, to see if I can find the perfect font for my digipak, and also any promoting posters for my album. The fonts have to be consistent throughout the advertising process, in order to create regularity and familiarity. So far my favourites (the ones that suit the tone and ambiance of my music video best) are the Rosewood STD for my main and for the smaller lettering the Perpetua Titling. I will now try this out with my images, to see if it goes well together.

1. Lana Del Rey

I wanted to investigate how different musicians promote themselves when releasing an album. I chose to look at Lana Del Rey, as she will be releasing her first album in two weeks from now. This way her methods are up to date and I am able to follow relevant news stories about the artist. I have looked at the text and image she has used, which is important for the branding, and have analysed the marketing campaign for her release. I have focused on her choice of colour, font and image, looking at what they connote. I have also followed closely her lead up to the release.

Please view my Prezi to find out more!

Lana Del Rey on Prezi

Digipak

Now my music video is complete I am going to focus on creating a digipak that complements the style of my music video. I have been playing around with some still frames taken directly from my movie, and edited using photoshop.

Possible digipak cover

However, although creating this has been a great practise for my photoshop skills, this is not the cover I will use. I want to create an entirely new image, using my main characters wearing their masks.

Approximate layout of the cover

This will follow this sort of layout, with the character sitting cross legged in front of a plain white/black background. There are 6 sides to the digipak, so therefore I will take the same picture, using all four characters, each different character will be on a different side. The remaining two side will be for the song names and also the CD. I will use still images taken directly from the movie for these sides.

Layout of my digipak

Final Cut

Here is the final cut of my music video, please leave any suggestions for improvement you may have.

Shooting and Editing process

This short voice recording records the way my video has changed since my original plan. I also explain why changes were needed to be made, and whether they have been successful or not.