Meeting and Case Study

This week, Mrs. Stoklosa divided us into groups, and we got to show some of our peers our blogs and get some feedback. Good news: everyone loved my blog! Yay! They said it was very clean and all the information was relevant. However, since we just started the projects, there was not much I could show them other than general content.

Something that they recommended, which I am about to do, is to find examples of certain artists who are similar to Em, and analyze their music videos, website, and digipaks. I feel that this would be a great way for Cata and I to expand our knowledge of the music industry while at the same time gaining ideas that we can apply to Em’s campaign. While I’m focusing on Ed Sheeran, Cat will focus on Alessia Cara.

Ed Sheeran is a British singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His music is a diverse mixture of acoustic pop, folk, and pop. Born in 1991, the red-haired popular artist released his first two albums by the age of 16. He moved from his home in Halifax to London in order to gain more exposure, and was eventually noticed by star Jamie Foxx. From there, his career skyrocketed as he signed with Elton John’s management agency, and has since won many awards for his touching music and performances

Ed Sheeran’s website is EdSheeran.com. Something that’s interesting is that the first thing that viewers see is a pop up promoting his new album, Divide. The advertisement gives you the option to buy the physical copy, the digital one, or just stream excerpts of it online. You can see the pop-up below:

On the bottom of the page, it gives you the option to continue to his website, where there are photos, news, merchandise, and even a tab with all of his social media. The main focus of the website is the huge image of Ed Sheeran. When clicked, the image becomes the music video for his latest hit, “Shape of You”.

Although the website is simple, I love the minimalistic look of it. Just like his music, his website seems raw and personable, yet it does its job of promoting Ed Sheeran and his music. This is something that I definitely want to incorporate into Em’s website, as I feel like her and Ed have a lot in common (other than the fact that they share the same initials. Coincidence? I think not…)

Cat and I also discussed the idea of having merchandise for Em, like a hoodie with the cover of her album on it. For some reason, Millennials and Gen Z’s love hoodies, unaware of the free advertisement that it does to the artist.

As for the music video, I watched another of Sheeran’s newest hits, “Castle on the Hill”. Although he doesn’t star for the majority of the video, he uses a younger look-alike to play him. I especially like this video because of its storytelling aspect. The mise-en-scene, shots, and angles are not highly managed or edited, it’s something that Cat and I would be able to do if we plan accordingly. The promotional element of it with Sheeran's presence is another thing that we definitely want to include, as we need our audience to recognize Em and connect her with the music that they are listening to. Since it is her first album, not only her music, but she as an artist needs to be marketed.

Sources:
"Ed Sheeran Official Website." Ed Sheeran Official Website. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.edsheeran.com/?frontpage=true>.
O'Brien, Jon. "Ed Sheeran | Biography & History." AllMusic. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.allmusic.com/artist/ed-sheeran-mn0002639628/biography>.