Andrew Goodwin's theory - Album Covers

Genre: Soulful R&B Funk

Amerie

Because I Love It: Amerie is a soulful R&B singer who often performs on stage and in her music videos. Her first album cover shows the singer posing in three different positions. The way she is posing is laid back and cool which links with the soulful R&B genre.

 The arrangement of the album cover shows her three times. This is also known as a motif, an aspect of Goodwin’s theory. This is to familiarise the audience with the artist as this album cover is from her earlier years within the music industry. Also her name is positioned clear for the audience to see, so they remember her name. This is important because the artist needs recognition in order to sell.

The positioning of her body is quite seductive and endearing, which is inevitable as women in the R&B industry usually have to look sexy as it is known that “sex sells”. The clothing she is wearing covers the majority of her skin but it’s also tight fitted and her leggings are sheer, this is quite sensual and leads more to the imagination. Being dressed and posing in this way will make the audience want to buy her album because she is portraying herself in a conventional way like similar artists as herself. The way she is dressed according to Goodwin’s theory is known as voyeuristic treatment which is the sexualisation of females within the industry wearing clothing that is alluring or acting/posing in a certain way that is sexual.

 

In Love and War: in her more recent album she has broken out into the more funk side of her music. She can do this now as she has grown as an artist by extending her fan base and gaining more recognition.

She is centred on this album cover with her name boldly written in front of her, this is because as an artist they still have to sell themselves. Her image has also adapted from her first album because they are trying to broaden her audience and gain her more fans. The background of her album has an abstract feel to it. Amerie can now do this as she has more recognition as an artist and has more say in how she represents her music.

Amerie isn’t positioned seductively as her first album but she is dressed in less clothing showing more skin. Also her hair is flowing and looks attractive, by dressing in this way she will be seen as attractive to the media as women in the media dress provocatively to gain more attention and to sell their products. This relates back to voyeuristic treatment.

Genre: Hip Hop

Lupe Fiasco

Food and Liquor: Lupe Fiasco’s music is known to be different compared to common hip hop artists; his album cover helps to illustrate his diversity and will attract an audience because it’s not what you would expect to see from a hip hop artist.

We can see that the main object on the album cover is Lupe Fiasco, they did this to familiarise the audience with the artist so he can gain more recognition. The objects around him and the flashing lights help to bring attention to him as he needs to stand out amongst other leading hip hop artists.

On the album cover we can see Lupe Fiasco holding a stereo and other objects floating around him such as a game boy, they incorporated these things because it is probably what interests and influences Lupe Fiasco, by doing this the consumer can learn more about the artist and can see what they have in common and also connect with the artist as they feel they know more about them.

The Cool: this album cover shows Lupe Fiasco’s diversity. He is not featured in the album; this shows that he has gained recognition to an extent that his fans and audience know who he is just by seeing his name.   

Even though he is not featured in the album his name is written for the audience to recognise, this for obvious reasons shows his fans that it is his and also introduces new audiences who may not have heard of him in the past.

As he is now a well known artist he has more control over how he portrays himself in the media. The picture on the album cover isn’t conventional to the genre hip hop, but it shows his unique quality which may attract his audience.