(Research) Purpose of Ancillary Products

Yesterday we had our first lesson on looking at the ancillary products we will be producing (a digi-pak and magazine advertisement). We looked at what they are and why they are used, and the do's and dont's when producing them, using examples of previous student work as a base to figure out what works and what doesn't.

What is a Digi-Pack?: A Digi-Pack is in some ways a more in depth version of your traditional 4 panel album case. They are available in either four, six or eight panels which fold in on themselves. These panels normally consist of more information and graphics related to the artist. It is used as a way for the music industry to add value to an album and sell it at a slightly bumped up price. One other thing that it is useful for it that it sort of helps combat the ever growing problem of piracy because, even though a fan can illegally download the album; they would not be able to get the physical extras that come with a digi-pack. In my opinion I don't really think this makes that much of a difference in this day and age, especially because of this new generation of music fans that practically see the process of obtaining music illegally as the only way to enjoy their favourite artist music.

Why are CD covers still used?: 

The main function of a CD cover has always been to promote and sell the artist and their music. When you walk around a shop you don't look at every single artist and album, you do a quick browse without going into particular detail, it is usually the CD cover that attracts you to it, and in some cases if you don't know the name of the artist it is the CD cover that will help you find it. 

An example of a limited edition digipak advert, clearly stating the number of panels it has, how many pages the booklet has and the number of bonus tracks that come with it.

We also looked at the features of a digipak which we will need to incorporate into our own designs. The main features that will definitely need to be included are the name of the artist, name of album, tracklist on the back, copyright disclaimer, label and optional email/ contact information. One of the most important things that must be thought about in depth is the colour scheme of and fonts used. because it is important that there is recurring visual link between the ancillary products otherwise there could be a chance of the consumer getting confused as to weather or not a certain single, album, music video or some sort of artist merchandise are all related and not just "Random".

What makes Digipak's so popular?: As a class, we raised several points in response to this question, but the one that kept on being repeated the most was Artist Image the reason why is because it helps consumers to be able to identify the artist that is portrayed on the artwork; especially if the artist shown is seen as influential style icon of some sort. A classical example of this would be Rihanna; for each of her albums she has adapted a unique image and style, which has proved to be influential across the globe. When she released her 5th album Loud, on the front cover of it she is shown to have red hair. In choosing to do this, Rihanna started a worldwide phenomena; females both young and old from all over joined in with this latest craze of dying their hair red. This without doubt cemented her status as a style icon; if ever doubted before.