RESEARCH: semiotic analysis of digipak

1. Research: Digipak Nets



The two main digipak nets used today are the 6 sided digipaks and the 4 sided digipaks, however out of the two, the 6 sided digipak has more advantages than the 4 sided one. Firstly, the designer is able to include much more information. Using 4 sided digipaks also has its benefits as they are straight to the point and much cheaper to produce, so if you have a low budget, then this is the ideal net for you.

2. Retailers: High street and Online

In today's society, the most common and cheapest way to purchase and listen to music is online via streaming websites and apps such as iTunes and Spotify.

It is less common to buy music  in the high street nowadays as people are gravitating towards online streaming. This caused well known music exhibitors to close down in areas, for example, in Hounslow High Street, the well known store HMV closed down as not many people were shopping there.

However, regardless of the viral hype, Vinyls are becoming increasingly popular again as a retro trend has become popular again.

3. Elements of Digipaks

 

A digipak offers the audience a lot more in terms of content than a disk with a regular CD cover. It is a marketing tool intended to offer the buyer an incentive for purchasing the hard copy from a high street or online retailer rather than downloading /streaming the music.

Textual Analysis:

Front Cover - generically include the title of the of the album, and the name of the artist. They usually also include a picture of the artist/band or artwork. In this example, Chris Brown has a picture of himself on the cover as well as his name and the album title "Fortune".

Back Cover & Spine - On the spine, you would  usually find the artist's name (J Cole), the title of the album (Cole World: The Sideline Story) and the record label which released the album (Roc Nation Columbia). The back cover of a digipak usually shows the tracks on the album, the album & artist's name and artwork along with institutional information. In this case, we have a picture of J Cole and the tracks on his album. At the bottom the are some institutional information such as the record label and distributors.





Internal Panel & Booklets - The internal panel has a place where the cd is kept and artwork to decorate the case. The booklet contains the track  list, credits (which go into depth about each song) and sometimes a lyric book for each track.