Website

I haven't blogged about the website a lot, but we've finally signed it off and here it is!

http://www.wix.com/latymermediamv2/lexi-grace

We decided to have an enter page, which is what a lot of other artists have on their websites. We promote the album throughout our website, but the enter page is specific to purchasing from iTunes which really taps in to the downloads and tech-savvy audience. As our core audience is teens, they will be familiar with the iTunes store so we felt this really targeted them.

 
On the first page, there are features for fashion retailers Topshop and Aldo. By working in synergy with these brands, we are again accessing the fashionable audience and teens/young adults are definitly aware of these shops. Also, ALDO features in our video so by having it on the video, this intertextuality makes sure that the shop was purposely in shot.

The first page shows Lexi's tours and has a banner about her album and new single meddle which is rquite professional and something that other artists do, as I have seen on websites from artists like Pixie Lott, Katy Perry and Tinie Tempah. There are also login and singup buttons which encourage repeated visiting of the website, just like a music video encourages repeated viewing.

 Other pages include 'Lexi" which allows fans to see what Lexi is really like and get personal with her which is really engaging and lets people relate to her.

As well as emphasising the album, we also have a page for her new single Meddle.

Again, getting personal with Lexi-photos from shoots.

The competition is really interactive and engages the audience so that they aren;t just browsing the site-they can actually get involved.

By having a merchandise page, we are really getting the audience to buy into Lexi's brand. Tshirts have Lexi's logo, which runs across the website and album and is specific to her. The merchandise really anchors her brand image.

The fan page allows fans not only to interact on the site but to do so with each other. Fans can express their thoughts and opinions and really interact with each other, so this is great for the audience. This page also has a live twitter feed which shows what Lexi herself is saying!

More interactivity is included in the social networking sites. Twitter has really become a prominent part of ccelebrity culture, with nearly every musician, actor and even us normal people using it. For example, as soon as I log in to my twitter I can see updates from friends but also rappers like JME and P Diddy. Unlike other sites, most celebrities on Twitter actually interact with fans which is really engaging and is why we included a feed on Lexi's page.

Website

Initially, we thought that we should do a myspace page but I've been looking online and real websites aren't actually that difficult to make.
Many artists use myspace, but it looks more professional and can appeal to wider audiences with an actual website. Here are some of my favourite artists at the moment and their websites:

Mark Ronson : British indie artist, internationally known

This is his own website and very bright and quirky, which fits his genre of music. It heavily promotes his new album Record Collection with The Business Intl, with videos, an audio player, tour dates etc. It's a really interactive site and looks unique but is conventional in that it has the features any music website would typically have to immerse the audience in the artist's world.

Chromeo : alternative American duo

The myspace is in keeping with Chromeo's niche image; they aren't about appealing to a mainstream audience. Although this is a myspace, there is a banner at the top which has links to their store to buy merchandise, videos and images which sticks to the conventions of a music website. Their trademark 'Chromeo' logo is individual and definitely something I would like to do with our artist.

JME - British grime artist

This is another myspace page which ties in with the low-key grime image and is quite personal to his fans. At the top, there is a video with fellow grime artist Tempa T which would definitly appeal to his fans as anyone who knows JME shouls know Tempa T. There is a music playlist, which you always see on a myspace and photos for fans to view and leave comments. Like the other websites, we see tour dates and fan comments and myspaces allow fans to become friends with the artist and follow them (like Twitter, which JME is always using!)

Tinie Tempah: British rapper

This is a non-scroll website, which I REALLY like as you don't need to scroll around the place and it is aesthetically pleasing as everything is together and concise. You can listen to all his released music and buy from the iTunes store, which is definitely appealing to the iGeneration, who are generally his fan base. There are 6 photos of Tinie Tempah, all relating to merchandise which shows how a website can really sell all aspects of the artist. Links to social networking sites like Facebook, YouTube and Myspace allow fans to follow the artist from all directions as the sites work in synergy together. All the artwork looks similar, so this could be from his unreleased album which is a good marketing ploy as it ties in with the suave image (he wears his trademark sunglasses etc).

Now that I think about it, I would really like to create a proper website, instead of a myspace page. I think that if I explained to the group how we could do this, it could really work. I found a website calles wix.com which is quite easy to use and allows anyone to create a free website and I really like this style in particular:

http://www.wix.com/flash-templates/mix-master
I reckon that as long as we really create a strong brand image, with photos, videos (such as behind the scenes filming and interviews), links to other sites like Facebook and Twitter, than our website would be really strong and immerse the audience. Interactivity is also key, so links to competitions, leaving comments and buying merchandise would be effective in our marketing campaign as well.

Week 4 Task: Website and marketing analysis

http://www.katyperry.com/

The first thing when we see on Katy Perry's website is a banner with artwork from her album Teenage Dream, which features on the front cover of the CD. Katy Perry's name and the album title is in a candy font, which relates to the first single from the album California Girls which was inspired by Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the game Candy Land. The fun theme runs through the site, with pink and blue colours.

BRAND IDENTITY & TARGET AUDIENCE: Katy's image is very sexualised through all her work, appealing to both men and women as she is a female singer. She markets to a worldwide audience as she is a mainstream popstar, who frequently appears in the charts and on radio. As we are in the UK, the wesbite automatically loads in a British format, but there are other options available for lots of other countries, allowing a wide audience to buy into Katy and her music.

APPEAL TO AUDIENCE: The website works in synergy with other sites like Facebook, YouTube,  Twitter etc which shows the technological convergence which allows the site to broadcast to many people. Katy has a live twitter feed which shows her tweets and other people that have mentioned her. Most celebrities use Twitter now, which allows fans to follow their every move and even interact with them.

The website is very fan based, with links to watch parodies that fans have made. This benefits the fans and Katy, as both are working symbiotically as people can view fans interpretations of her work.

STRATEGIES TO BUY INTO ARTIST: There are many ways to buy into Katy Perry, the main one being to buy her latest album Teenage Dream, with 'available now' and 'available everywhere now,' repeated all over the place. 


The audience can buy ringtones, visit the store to buy merchandise, view tour dates and buy tickets for live performances. There are links to specific songs and some are from her EPs and previous album, which shows that the website is allowing the audience many options. Again, there is an appeal to an international audience with a UK and US store.

INSTITUTIONS: The record company behind the website and Katy's new album is capitol records, who are featured at the bottom of the page. Katy's website doesn't advertise for other institutions like clothes shops, which perhaps shows that she doesn't need the extra money from advertising as she is so successful or perhaps that she wants the fans to focus on her instead of other things. There are photos of the artist, videos, songs and many other things to appeal to the audience as they have visited the site for her and not anything else.