Analysis of R&B digi packs

Beyonce's I Am digipack is very simple with just a picture of her on the front. This is to detract away from any gimics and show that it is her stripped down. Adding to this, the text is very simple, small and in the bottom corners of the page, this really makes the image of Beyonce herself stand out. The fact that she's naked also adds to the simple effect of this CD cover, this also gives a sense of vulnerability the way she is wrapping her arms around herself to cover her body, this gives a sense of her trying to hide something. This simple digipack has a black and white wash over it, making Beyonce's skin look like silver, along with the silver text portraying wealth. The direct eye contact links to Horton and Whols parasocial theory as she is building a relationship with the audience through this.

Drake's Take Care cover features him looking sad as he is looking down, not making eye contact with the audience, this would make them question this. The gold props and lavish paintings featured in Drake's CD cover have connotations of wealth as he has all these expensive things around him, this does link to many of Drake's texts such as his songs where he raps about having money. This is also a typical convention for R&B artists to show off their wealth. In this picture Drake is holding a gold wine glass, offering the idea of him drinking alcohol, again trying to portray 'the good life'. There is a parent advisory sticker, which again is typical of the R&B genre as they often have cursing in their songs.

Rihanna's Loud album features a close up picture of her face, to show her beauty as it is one of the main appeals about Rihanna. The picture has a lot of red, from Rihanna's hair and lips, red is the colour of lust, portraying sex appeal from the artist. Other than this, her make up is simple, bringing the focus to her eyes and lips, as they stand out most. Rihanna has a lot of tattoo's, but in this picture you can only see a small one on her neck, showing this picture is simple, drawing the attention to her face and nothing else. The red hair is a signature style of Rihanna, making the CD cover very recognised as her. The font is also very simple and only noticable up close, adding to the simplicity.

Justin Timberlakes digipack features a picture of him with direct eye contact adding sex appeal to the picture. Again, as the other 3 pictures, the writing is very simple, small and placed at the bottom of the picture, below him. Justin is wearing a shirt and tie in the picture, representing wealth as he is well dressed and clean cut, opposing this is his facial hair which gives him a more rough around the edges look.

 All of these R&B digipacks focus on pictures of the artist, mostly close ups. This is so the audience/customers know exactly who's album this is. The picture of them also gives the audience a visual to relate too, something attractive or aspirational.