Initial research, influences and ideas: Inspirational album covers and websites

I like the idea of using an illustration or graphic for the album cover rather than just photographs of the artist. Here are some examples of album covers like this:

My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade

Arctic Monkeys - AM

Arcade Fire - Funeral

Radiohead - Hail to the Thief

The Antlers - Hospice

Ed Sheeran - You Need Me EP

It might not necessarily be the best idea in practice because we would have to draw the cover, but I can draw sometimes and it could end up being an interesting idea when edited digitally.

Matching with the illustration theme, some inspirational websites are:

Ed Sheeran's website

His theme of illustrated/sketched logos and album artwork, that has gone on from his earliest EPs (see the You Need Me EP shown above) to his latest bestselling album, X, which you can see on the website in the top right hand corner, is used on his website too. One part that I like especially is how his links to his accounts on social media sites are "sketched" logos:

Also, to the left of this, there is a music player that enables anyone using the website to play 90 seconds of most of the songs on his first album, +. A link to buy the song pops up next to it:

This is a good idea because it gives people browsing his website an opportunity to hear his music, and then they are more likely to buy it because they can do so by clicking a button straight away. People are often too lazy to buy music on iTunes, on a CD etc. just because there is comment telling them to. This approach is less time-consuming for consumers and therefore allows for more sales. 

I also like how when you scroll down on the homepage, his latest tweet is displayed, so fans or anyone on the website can keep in touch with what he's doing in his career. Links to news about Ed Sheeran - new tour dates and an update of his tour diary, which he releases in separate parts on his YouTube channel, so the fans can get an inside look at his career and touring experiences - are also displayed. There is also a link to the store.

Panic! At the Disco's website

Panic! At the Disco's website is linked to a tumblr account, evident when you scroll down and see their posts, which show how many notes they have and a reblog button:

This is a good idea because it means that anyone following them on tumblr would see everything they post on their website, because their website is a tumblr. That means more people see their content, which markets their music and gives information about what the band are doing, and also promotes other similar artists (see the Fall Out Boy promotion in the screenshot above) than they otherwise would if you could only see it by deciding to visit their website, which people would not do so often, and usually only would if they had a specific reason to.

I also like the simplicity of Panic! At the Disco's website. It is easy to read and navigate. The design is simple and so not distracting, which makes it nicer to use. 

Here is the header on the website:

The links shown are clearly seen and are immediately visible when entering the website, so people can find what they're looking for straight away. I also like the style of the font and it could be an inspiration for my own website later.