Digipak analysis - Arctic Monkeys
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The Arctic Monkeys portrayed themselves as average working-class people on their debut album cover to appeal to their target audience and show that fame had not changed them. The man on the cover and the album's grey and black color scheme aimed to represent the band's down-to-earth style and the types of real issues and emotions explored in their songs. Through these visual choices, the band sought to convey the impression that the album was made for their fans rather than fame or money.
Digipak analysis - Arctic Monkeys
- 1. ‘Whatever People Say I Am, That’s Exactly What I’m Not’ – Digipak Analysis The man on the front and back of the CD cover reflects how the Arctic Monkeys see themselves as a band; they portray themselves as average people almost like ‘working class’. They have done this to appeal more to their target audience and to in some respect prove that fame hasn’t got to their head and they are not the stereotypical ‘boy band’ instead they are in a way darker than that and hit on real issues in their songs. They are trying to suggest that they have not made this album for the fame and fortune instead they have made it for the fans. Not only is the man on the front of the cover representative of the band as a whole, it mirrors the possible target audience of the Arctic Monkeys. This way by having what seems to be the ‘average’ working class man (smoking, normal clothes standard hair cut) makes the target audience feel that the album is more for them rather than the upper class who are targeted by other styles of artists in various different ways. However this man could have been put on the front cover of the CD to try and show new possible fans at a glance what the band are like in a sense, all through the image and stereotype off the man on the cover. The colour scheme of this digipak again reflect the overall style of the band, the grey and black colours symbolise dark and depressing things. This in a sense is what the band songs are about; they are not about a typical boy bands song, which involves falling in love with girl and a song about their beauty. Instead, the band sings about possible heartbreak in a way that we as an audience would feel. The colours represent the Arctic Monkeys bands ‘down to earth’ style. This is the debut album from the Arctic Monkeys released on the 23rd of January 2006 entitled ‘Whatever People Say I Am, That’s Exactly What I’m Not’. Because this was their debut album the band had to make an impression and try to get across to their audience what they are like as band. The album’s name was named after a line in the novel ‘Saturday Night and Sunday Morning’. The lead singer (Alex Turner) said "It’s good because the book is called Saturday Night and Sunday Morning and that's kind of what the album is, so there's a link there. This link could be that the stereotype of the people who would be associated with that phrase mirrors the target audience of this album. This makes the audience feel like this album is for them. The CD cover could perhaps suggest that their music is somewhat like the cigarettes that decorate the disc, it suggests that their music is in some way bad (bad as in the style that they give off ‘’bad boys’’) and it could show a connection between the cigarette and the music as in both are addictive. So the Arctic Monkeys could have chosen this theme for the disc as when you play the CD you are playing something addictive, this meaning their music.