DIGIPAKS

What is a Digipak

Digipaks are used by bands and record labels all over the world to offer fans a limited-edition product. They are a printed card packaging that is often used for CDs and/or DVDs. The digipak, made from cardboard stock, contains an internal plastic holder that is capable of holding one or more discs. These discs are held in place with plastic trays (flexitrays), which are glued into the digipak. Typically, the outer packaging is made from a custom printed cardboard – this custom appearance is chosen by the digipak’s manufacturer and can become either the album artwork, or DVD cover. The most popular type of Digipak is the 4-panel container. Digipak can also be produced as 6 or 8 panel sleeves holding 1, 2, 3 or even 4 discs and potentially an additional booklet. The whole digipak would hav a front cover, a back cover, a spine, and a disc impression. The conventions of a digipak is that there must be images that represen the theme of the album and the artist; the genre should also be identified to fans and potential audience.

The History of Digipaks

In 1974, a Dutch electronics company by the name of Philips began developing a digital optical audio disk with error correction code. Some 50 years later, these disks are a core part of 21st century life.

IMPAC Group, Inc. originally owned the Digipak trademark. That company was acquired by MeadWestvaco (MWV) in 2000 and folded into its AGI Media division. Following this acquisition, the Digipak name and designs were licensed to manufacturers around the world. MWV sold AGI Media to Atlas Holdings in 2010. In 2012, Atlas purchased Shorewood Packaging from International Paper and merged the two companies to create AGI-Shorewood.

DIGIPAK ANALYSIS

Taylor Swift’s 1989 Album

I am going to analyze Taylor Swift’s digipak as she’s one of the most famous artist in the world. I have picked the 1989 album because it’s the first album she published after switching from country music to pop music and it’s the album our song “Shake It Off” belongs to.

1989 is Taylor Swift’s fifth studio album and it was released on October 27th 2014 through big machine records. The album is named after Taylor’s year of birth as well as the pop scene throughout the 1980s. 1989 sold 1.287 million copies during the first week of release and it eventually became the best-selling album in the US for 2014. In both Germany and the UK, the album was released to wide retail and digital download. Both the standard 13-track edition and the deluxe edition was released on the same day. Big Machine Records decided to include 13 of 65 collectible printed polaroids with every physical copy of 1989.

The front cover on the digipak shows a polaroid photograph which features half of Taylor herself as well as some writing on top of the edge of the polaroid which has her initials and the album title. This is different to her previous albums which show her full face, this could suggest that she is trying a new approach as she moves from Country to Pop music. Taylor doesn't need to appear in her album covers due to the fact she already has an established fan base who would be able to identify if an album is hers or not. The fact that she doesn't fully feature on the album cover is not a typical convention of the pop genre and is more a convention of the indie genre. The polaroid photo is relatively old fashioned; this could be done to represent Swift’s time in the music industry. The album title has been hand written in what appears to be a black marker. The fact that the title has been hand written gives the album a personal feel and makes Taylor seem like an authentic person which positions the audience to like her. The colours of the front cover are quite warm and soft which has connotations of positivity; this could be to reflect the general mood of the songs on her album. In the image, Swift is shown wearing red lipstick. This is one of her signature looks which she has become well known for amongst her fan base and society. By featuring this in her album cover it shows that she is still remaining the same despite the fact her music is changing. This is to make her fans feel less nervous about her sudden music change from country to pop. Also in this image Taylor is shown wearing a jumper which has birds flying on it. This could potentially be symbolic of how she now feels that she is creatively free in terms of her music and no longer feels trapped to one specific genre. Although you can only see a small amount of Taylor in the image, enough can be seen to tell that her hair is relatively messy and that she is wearing a jumper. This creates a relaxed and laid back mood within the image and also represents her as a down to earth kind of girl which makes the audience feel calm and at ease when they look at it. The way she has been styled for the image is very relatable for her audience because they often follow a similar style when they have a ‘lazy day’ and don't want to be made up all of the time. The colour of Swift’s jumper and the background of the image are very similar, which means that they sort of blend together. This could be to represent how the album is personal and important to her.

Inside the digipak there is also a book which has more of the song lyrics within it. It also features more polaroid photographs which are printed onto every other page of the booklet . Once again they continue to all feature Taylor in them by herself as well as having some lyrics from the songs written on the bottom of them. In this booklet there are also acknowledgements and thank you's towards the end.

The CD for this digipak follows the same theme as both the front cover and back cover; this follows the typical conventions of a digipak. Taylor Swift does not appear on the CD itself, instead the CD has the same design on it as the jumper that she is wearing on the front cover of the digipak. It shows flying birds which reinforces the idea of her creative freedom with this album. The same front and handwriting has been used on the CD as the front cover and the back cover; this continues to give the album a personal feel because it’s as if she wrote on the CD herself. The style is consistent on the CD because it has the same colour scheme as the rest of the digipak and therefore portrays the same vintage vibe. Around the edge of the CD is some information about the copy right of the album; this is a common convention of digipak.

The polaroid photo has again been used on the back of the album digipak. On this part of the digipak, Taylor’s head/face can be seen this therefore links to the front cover; as the front cover shows Taylor from the mouth down. The back cover shows the tracks on the album, the bonus tracks, Swift’s song writing memos as well as the barcode and record label information. Once again handwriting has been used, this creates continuity between the covers. The handwriting has been used on the track numbers, sub-headings and for the logo of Big Machine Records. The logo has been changed from the original logo and has instead been made into almost a doodle; this ties into the use of the hand writing which ones again creates continuity on the cover. The font that has been used for the song titles as well as the record label information is reminiscent of the font that a type writer uses. This and the fact the image is a polaroid photo links to the idea of old technology which gives the album a vintage vibe. This is smart due to the sudden increase in popularity for old and vintage technology such as record players and polaroid cameras. The song titles on the back cover will appeal to a wide audience due to the fact that they are neither aimed at men or women. The image on the back cover is a continuation of the image on the front cover, it shows the rest of Swift’s face. This shows her makeup, which is relatively natural apart from the eyeliner; this is also part of Taylor’s signature look of red lipstick and eyeliner. This once again shows her audience that whilst her music is changing she will remain the same.

Inside of the 1989 digipak there are 13 collectable polaroid photographs. Taylor features in all of the polaroid images and some of the happen to be very similar to the picture on the digipak front cover. This suggests that these photographs were all taken as part of the digipak photoshoot and these were the ones that didn't make the cover. Along the bottom of the polaroid, there are handwritten lyrics from the songs on the album. The fact they are hand written continues to make the album feel more personal. These images create a sense of continuity throughout the whole of the digipak because they are similar in style and tone to the images used on the front and back covers. The fact that this was an advertised free gift, only available in the physical copies of the album makes the audience more likely to want to buy this copy because they get an exclusive, collectable gift.