Music Video Research: Magazine Poster Research

In this post I will be researching music posters so I can get ideas for my own music poster for the band I will be picking. Through this research will make sure I get the right image for the right genre. Also this will have information on different types of music posters e.g. Gig posters.

Travis is an alternative rock band that is from Scotland, with Fran Healy, Dougie Payne, Andy Dunlop and Neil Primrose. There band is named after Travis Henderson from the film Paris, Texas. This music poster of the band Travis is a typical indie rock band. The poster shows the 4 members of the band in a scenic setting. Looking at the formation of the band members you can tell that they are formed with the membership popularity; Fran Healy at the front because he is the lead singer. This poster is a simple poster with only the bands logo and album name. Both of these are at the top of poster and it is large so you can see it, and it is there for you to notice. With the band being indie this is why the poster isn’t out of ordinary; it goes with the lyrics that they want to portray. The setting of the poster also goes with the lyrics; this is also defined with the space between the band name and also the band members. Within the poster nature light has been used. From this I can see that when using the performers you want to portray the meanings of them and their music.

Placebo is an alternative rock band that was formed in London in 1994 and the band members that are involved are Brain Molko, Stefan Olsdal and Steve Forest. Looking at the band Placebo it is well known for sexuality to come through from their music because of the sexuality that is within the band itself. From the information known about the band you can see that they have placed sexuality within it with having the lip stick shaped rocket. It shows the sexuality of women that they want to portray in the album that they are selling from the poster; ‘She wants Revenge’ and she is going to be powerful about it, she is the lip stick and the power is the rocket. The poster is quite simple because they want you to focus on the image more, to get across the point. This is also used with the colour; the lip stick is red (anger, blood, revenge) where as the rest of the image is black or white. With the lip stick being red, they are showing that is important; and the name Placebo and the albums names are just the same. With the poster not being of the band members it shows that the name of the band is more important then themselves. This is a simple music poster because it isn’t show other things within it, like realise dates or tours; where other music poster would.

Linking in with my research of music band, Lights and Sounds was one of the bands that I went into detail about. Lights and Sounds are an Indie Pop band, which is unsigned. They are not a well known band because of their indie status. Being indie just them their wide range of styles, so they can perform the music that they want. There fast upbeat tempo music links in with their target audience of young adults that are also like the band itself. From the band not being well known they use their name instead of their faces on the music poster because people are more likely able to notice their name then their faces. On the poster with them front lining, they are more important so their name takes up most of the page. The name itself is not simple it is art like, and unusual because of their genre. The text doesn’t have anything to do with the band; it has more to do with the gigs theme that they want to portray in the advert poster. This is also proved with the band’s name coming from the ball of string. Even though Lights and Sounds are bigger than the rest of the writing, it is still important. The information that is on this type of music poster is, times, locations and other bands names, but it is not the bit we should be focusing on because it’s smaller font size. I find that the price of the tickets rivals the size of the band’s name because the point they are trying to make is that it only because ‘5 POUND’ to see this ‘BIG’ band. To fill up the page and also to add to the theme the cat is place below all the important things and also is not in a bold colour to take always the important of the other information.

Sonic Edge band are an Alternative Christian band from Singapore. This is a new style of music because Christian music is stereotypically hymns and choirs; were this is new aged music to give a wider audience for the Christian genre. With my own personal idea about Christian bands I find that the new alternative Christian bands are there to attract the younger generation to the idea of Christianity. The poster that they have been advertised on is a typical album launch poster that fits the brief of my own task. From this poster I will be taking parts of it to make sure I grab the same convention in my own work. Focusing on the bands image first, you can see that the band is important with the logo and band name taking up most of the page. The logo itself is unique and goes with the genre of being alternative. You can see that it is alternative with the canted angle and boldness of the logo; in a way it reminds me of California sunny beaches because of the font. The font being bold can symbolise the boldness and strength of their beliefs and how much they want it to be portrayed in the band. The silhouette of the bird that goes with the theme of the poster is Sonic Edge Band’s main logo; I find that is could be seen as a religious symbol, maybe being a dove. If the bird is a dove with it being positioned above the band’s name shows that they up their religion above the band or it is everywhere the band goes. Looking around the logo and the logo itself it gives off an ink like art; this could go back to the culture of the band. The second text that sticks out is the news about the new album launch and the word album is bolder then the rest, telling me that the ‘Album’ is important. The other information for the album launch isn’t as big but still follows the same idea, with the important parts being bolder, like the date and the price. Also with this poster the sponsors are also present on the poster, so because know who is responsible for the launch and bring the company popularity. Looking at his poster it breaks normal conventions of poster by being longer than normal; but is style poster could be door size poster so when it’s stuck up you see it every time you leave your room.