HMV Store Research by the group

 Our group went to HMV store to research existing albums being sold. We focused on the R&B/Hip Hop genre which was positioned at the back of the shop. Some of the best selling albums were featured at the front of the shop under the Charts, and New Release section. This includes artists such as Rihanna, Drake and more. This tells us that people are more willing to buy CDs than performance DVD. We stood in front of a range of CDs to see which album catches our eyes. The album that we first saw which stood out to us was Rihanna, Far East Movement, and Jay Z.

This is Rihanna's album: 'LOUD'. This album caught our eyes due to the album colour scheme of Red, and Cyan. The album was also positioned at the top of the rack so it was very easy to be seen. The album is really simple and may seem boring to some people, but the album clearly promotes the artist due to the close up of the artist's face. This is effective because people will instantly recognise her.

This is Far East Movement's album, 'Free Wired'. This caught our eyes because of the effects it has. These effects are appropriate, and relate well to its genre. The 3D effect on the image makes it original and make the artists stand out. The fonts are really effective because they are quite modern.

This is Jay Z's album. 'Blueprint 2.1'. This caught our eyes because of the colour scheme: the artist is in black and white which contrasts the bold orange background. The artist is looking directly at the viewer suggesting authority, and power. This makes the artist the main focus of the album.

The shop was playing popular music that relates to young people. The songs that we heard were One Direction's 'What Makes You Beautiful', Goo Goo Dolls' 'Iris', and Cher Lloyd's 'With Ur Love'. This could mean that the shop maybe promoting new releases of artists. However, there are old songs that are being played as well, this could mean that the shop is attracting wider audience.

We also researched into the sales of Music DVD. The Music DVDs are located in a small section of the DVD section. The store mainly showcase Film DVDs as these are more popular.

This is Beyonce and Jay-Z music DVD (of their story) called 'Hip Hop's Power Couple'. The image on the front cover is promoting the two artists. The white background makes them stand out which makes them the main focus of the cover. The title is quite large and bold and is in capitals which makes it hard to miss.

This is Beyonce's new album  '4'. One CD is the album and the other CD is the extended version. They show different images of the artist which is a good way to promote it the artist easily recognisable and people can remember it. The white backgorund makes it stand out and the image is in front of the artist's name which makes it look more releastic giving it a 3D effect. The image is simple, and the artist does not diorectly look at the viewer. The artist is very well known so she does not need to  over complicate the album covers.                                    

The next album is by Jason Derulo 'Future History'. The light/neon effect on the artist name is appropriate and fits the R&B genre well. This album has the artist on the front but he is not promoting himself in the coveras his face is turned away, showing he is already well known and his name is enough to be recognised by. he dark background also fits the genre.

The last album we looked at was called 'Lo(a)sers' By Lupe Fiasco. This is quite simple, and does not promote the artist. The neon lighting is interesting but doesn't really fit the genre, it looks like indie/rock. It quite limited and the artist name is smaller than the album title, but he is not a very well known artist so his name should be larger to promote himself.