Magazine Advert Analysis - Miss Miller

The purpose of a magazine advert is that it allows the artist to get themselves out there. It provides a fast amount of success for the artist as it allows its audience to not only buy the magazine to see them, it acts as a constant reminder to where the albums are out and normally where you can find them. In addition to this it allows to spread there audience further by introducing there new albums to a different audience that may have never heard of them but indeed are intrigued by them just through the use of there album cover and how it was been manipulated to appeal to not just there target audience but anyone that the artist thinks would enjoy there music. I have chosen to analyse an album advert of the indie artists Gabrielle Aplin who I choose to use as my final artist in my music video as well as James Bay. A newer artist on the scene who would rely a lot on advertising his product well. 

Gabrielle Aplin's advert here is for her album 'English Rain' a very dainty way of presenting this album is displayed through many aspects of the actual album cover through the use of the colour, images and more. To begin with the overall representation of Gabrielle Aplin is able to show her as very feminine and fragile. She is able to be seen as being very free as we see her walk barefoot over a sand like setting. The connotations of the artist's album are supported by the calm blue sky, this is to represent the content of the the music involved in the actual album being an indie artist most of her songs are very calming with little going on in them apart from a couple of instruments, stereotypically a guitar or piano and her very soft voice.  In continuation from the connotations we are able to see how the colours contribute to her theme of happiness and peace, as she holds a rainbow coloured umbrella over her. The mix of colours can be connoted as her being protected from bad things being the 'rain' and her colourful umbrella is to show her out look on life that even though she is faced with problems she remains optimistic, the audience will relate to this and be able to transform themselves into the same person by listening to this able. 

The font colour of the important information at the bottom remains to be switching from white to blue. This connotes how her songs in the album may be upbeat but some may have a more 'blue' tone to them being sad and having inner emotions threaded into them, for example 'Salvation' the song we have chosen to use for our music video. The design and layout of the album cover allows the audience to see and focus directly on her at first as she is put in the middle of the album cover. Her name is in larger font above the image of her to really cause the audience's attention to be drawn to her name if they recognise it or in contrast even if they don't, because they are then able to look her up and be able to learn more information about herself as a person, an artist and a product. 

This particular image of the artist allows her to be seen as very delicate. She is seen holding up an umbrella not only playfully but protectively over herself. This connotes what her album is going to be about. Whether it is about her deeper emotions such as how happy or sad her songs are. Her body language in the image can also been seen in a particular way that is rather positive. Her positioning makes her appear as though she is running or skipping one of her legs is kicked playfully up in the air. This portrays the artist as being free and happy. The audience will be intrigued to see how she manages this and overall it will allow them and encourage them to take part in having a more adventurous and free outlook on life. They will be alot more motivated into buying her album due to them imagining a correlation between being happy and buying her album. 

The particular use of typography on the artists magazine advert is quite dainty and girly. The album name 'English Rain' is quite flicked and looks similar to someones handwriting. This gives the album a more real and personal feel. The audience will then see this a a product that is very close to the artists heart and will portray her true emotions through the music overall creating an effect of normality. The audience will be more inclined to buy this album through the iconography as they will connote the font style with the artist, Gabrielle Aplin. To be someone who is very genuine and down to earth. The style of language remains very successful as it enables the audience to see what songs the album has to offer. At the bottom of the advert we are able to see the words '13 May' which will allow the audience to have a clear imagine of what date the album is going to be released. A selection of very popular and successful songs are displayed underneath which relate to the audience as they may recognise some of these more successful songs and want them, which will result in there being more sales of the album. 

The advert is very conventional to the music genre and promotes it in a very positive way through the use of the simplistic theme. The colours used appear as being very natural and neutral which connote the indie genre as it allows the audience to view the music video in a more original and untouched way, which is the theme that most indie artists follow as they like to use real life settings and iconography in the music video. In addition to this the costume that she wears is very floaty and white, this also relates to the indie genre as again it displays her as being very carefree and natural, which are elements the audience do expect to see in the indie genre. The way the artist is represented in this magazine advert is actually very successful and would appeal to her target audience. This is because she is seen as being very playful and fun to be around which will unite the audience into buying the artists album even further. Overall the imagery and styles used in the advert of 'English rain' relate strongly to the codes and conventions of the indie genre, this is something that audience members want to see. There aim is to be able to create something that seems so natural and relateable that anyone can have it. This makes the audience believe that because Gabrielle Aplin is being portrayed as having fun and being happy, that listening and buying her album must mean the same for them. Overall the audience are able to look up to her as friend not a successful artist that is, in reality very different from her target audience.


The artist James Bay is an artist that is very new to the music business, he made is debut with the singles 'hold back the river' and 'let it go'. This is a magazine advert of his new album. As a whole the magazine advert represents James Bay as someone who is very chilled and relaxed, this involves alot of things such as his costume and the lighting of the magazine advert which creates an overall theme for the indie artist. The connotations of the artists advert begins with the wall next to Jame Bay. The colour of the wall is very dark and black. This not only allows the font and writing to stand out but it also connotes that the album may contain elements of darkness. This tells the audience that the songs on this particular album may contain very emotional material, that may cover dark topics at times. He also wears all black which connotes the same idea that he is new to the scene, but not afraid to be very edgy and truthful in his music,maybe unlike other artists in the industry. Behind him seems like the exist of the alley way he stands in. The lighting of this is alot brighter compared to where he stands, This connotes that there is always a 'light at the end of the tunnel' this may represent his journey as an artist and how long it has taken him to get where he is today, but now he has finally achieved his goal and by buying this album gives him the push that he really needed to carry on.

The colours used in this advert remain to be a mix up between, white, gold and black. The white coloured font of his name not only stands out well for the audience to see, but always portrays him as being an artist that is very true to himself. He is an innocent and good person and that is why you should buy his album. This differs to the colour of the album name, being in gold represents how this album is seen as a luxury. The fact that this album is new and unique shows that it is portrayed as something that is seen as a pleasure and and rarity. The fact that James Bay wants this album to appear as something special shows that he values his audience into only giving them the best he can possibly give which intrigues the audience into buying what is on this album In addition to this the gold colours are also valid on the 'itunes radio' this is another way to display that only 'his' album is possible to listen to on an exclusive feature being itunes radio. This again leads the audience into thinking that they are special and that they want to be the only ones to own James Bay's album on this particular feature. The design and layout remains to be very structured on James Bay's album. All the information that you need to know about the album is placed directly on the left of it. This gives the audience an idea of what there actually buying and what needs to be done to create a successful sale of the album. The artist is placed next to the font to also get the audiences attention as they may immediately recognise his face and aim to buy his album as soon as possible.

The choice of image that James Bay has chosen on his magazine advert works very well in encouraging the audience in buying the album as he has used a high angle to make it appear as though the audience are looking down on him. The use of a high angle gives the impression to the audience that they are in control. This kind of authority is very inviting as people like to feel that they are in control of what they buy. In addition to this the artist, James Bay, is looking up at the audience with a rather concerning yet calm look on his face. This type of expression allows the audience to feel as though they are being invited into his world, this relates to them being able to listen to his music and learn almost everything about him. As James Bay is a new artist he has given the audience the reassurance that even though he is new they are on the same journey together which overall enables the audience to be able to look up to him as a friend. In addition to this the location used in the image is very typical to the indie genre. The artist has done this is follow on with the theme of friendship and normality. The setting in the image is very similar to that of a town or city that most of his audience will be familiar with. This implies that he wants the audience to feel at home and comfortable with his music and he has been successful in creating the same emotion and feeling in his magazine advert aswell.

The typography used in this magazine advert is very clear. The font used almost resembles a type writer itself. This relates to the idea that indie genres tend to try and be very vintage and unique in there music videos. In addition to this the letters seem rather spaced out which actually cause audiences attention to be more focused on them. This will allow them to linger on his name and the album name, making it more likely for them to take it in and remember it. The style of the language also relates to the type of music that is portrayed on the artists album. The name of the album is actually 'chaos and the calm' this demonstrates to the audience that the type of music on this album will show real emotions and feelings that they will be able to, but also how to get over them, it portrays the album as containing songs that will be able to really touch the audience in a way that can help them get over any bad emotions that they may be feeling at a particular time. 

The advert promotes the music genre as something that people can come to, to really think about life and there feelings involved in this. The indie artist is typically known for being very adventurous with creativity and being able to sweep there audience members up in there relateable story lines, locations and hidden messages this enables them to be able to connote to the indie genre through James Bay's codes and conventions in his magazine advert through the use of unique and dark coloured clothing, the particular high angle that makes him appear alot more friendly and the use of an alleyway which is very realistic location when filming in a city. James Bay himself as an artist appears to be someone that invites there audience along on this journey. The audience are able to see by the way that he looks in the image that he wants them to feel welcomed and 'normal' when listening to his music. This is due to the fact that his location leads out to a bright and more inviting path and by his body language and facial expressions we are able to know that he wants the audience to feel like they are coming with him and it starts by them buying his album. This overall works well at attracting the audience as it makes them feel like they are a huge part of his music career and are necessary in making him successful.

Overall I have learnt by analysing the two magazine adverts that it is crucial to stick to the theme and ideas that you originally have for the album as the audience are able to pick up on slight things which may change sale incredibly. I will incorporate the indie genre in my own magazine advert, by having a very natural or normal setting that will not be artificial. The fact that I have analysed these two magazine adverts have allowed me to think more about what the audience would like to see in an artist.