The first album cover I am looking at is called 'Chasing Lights' by The Saturdays. The audience can instantly tell that the artists are an all female pop group. The members of this girl band are all present on the front of the album cover in particular poses. The name of the album is 'Chasing Lights' which is not shown on the cover which is quite rare. The only link that I can see is that all members of the band are looking towards the light in the picture. The title of the album could suggest that the artists are chasing fame or trying to gain popularity and status as you link lights with the Hollywood life style, such as bright lights, stage lights and even trying to get in the spotlight. The image used is a simple layout where the band are shown posing for the picture on tiered seating. It is a black and white picture but the dresses that the artists are wearing are all in colour which makes them stand out and looks modern and stylish. The band is made up of very attractive females which suggests why the photograph is in a model photo shoot style. The target audience is anyone who likes pop music or girl bands, this could range from children to middle aged people. It's likely to be more aimed at a female audience.
The second album cover I looked at is 'Recovery' by Eminem. From the image on the cover you can tell that it is a solo artist and that the genre of music is rap/hip hop. You can tell this because the artist is wearing a beanie hat, hoody and body warmer which strongly suggests he is involved in that genre of music. Also the beanie hat is a trademark for Eminem as he wears one often in performances, music videos and films. Even though you cannot actually see the person's face in the picture, fans or anyone that has seen Eminem before can tell that it is him from his style, body language and size. This shows that the artist doesn't feel like he has to put his face on the cover to gain more fame or get more recognized as he is already established. The name 'Recovery' is linked to his return to rap music as he has previously retired and been through hard times. For example he went into rehab and was also addicted to drugs, so it shows that he is recovering from these bad times to get back into his prime form. This gives reason for the hospital cross sign used in the font for the title on the album cover. The image used is a representative for him walking down the road of life. By this I mean that it shows him travelling alone down a road that appears to be never ending and doesn't look like it has a destination. The artist has referenced in several songs both from the past and on this album that he has been down a difficult, dark road and that he walks down it alone so it is probably linked to this. The target audience for this album is rap/hip hop lovers, usually male, aged from teenagers to middle age. You can see from the explicit content warning on the front of the album cover that it is not aimed at children.
The final album cover I looked at was Tenacious D's self titled album. The genre of music is rock and you can tell this because both the artists of the band are holding guitars along with other various links on the cover. One of the links to rock is the fact that they are chained to the devil which shows they are servants to the devil which is a rock cliché. The pentagram on the floor also associates with the devil and the candles give a séance feel which suggests they contact the devil or evil spirits, which is all part of the rock and roll image. The explicit content warning shows that it is not aimed at a young audience. The band targets teenagers and young adults but could also appeal to an older audience who appreciate rock music. The fact that both the artists on the cover are naked shows they break the rules and are rebellious.
