Star Image

All Pop stars have a certain identity or persona which is not restricted to their musicianship. A true pop star has a lasting significance and has a 'brand awareness' amongst a wider market over a long period of time.

A stars image becomes a a recognised sign that is used through many different media forms. Artists use this to their advantage and will use their image as a meaning of allowing it to be used for advertising purposes.

Example-
Eminem continues this font throughout all of his advertising and merchandise, therefore his fans will be drawn towards these things if there is an existing image that he uses throughout his music.

Richard Dyers Theory-

1) Stars are artificial images which are constructed purely because they will know it will appeal to their target audience. Artists can be copied or parodied because of this certain image the artists are portraying.

'A Star is an image not a real person that is constructed (as other aspects of fiction is) out of a range of materials' 

2) Industry and Audience
Stars are made to appeal to the audiences with will generate revenue for the artists record companies. Record companies nurture their stars, they shape their artists to what they think will appeal most the the artists target audience and to the general public.

'Stars are commodities produced and consumed on the strength of their meanings' 

3) Ideology and culture
Stars promote a certain ideology by the shared cultural values and attitudes that they represent. The audience will have interests in these values which will then enhance their 'Star Quality'. If the artists convey certain beliefs, ideas and opinions outside the music, it helps to create their star persona.

4) Character and Personality
The artists are simply constructed into stars. A star first begins as a 'real' human but they are then transformed into a star (construction). The stars provide audiences with a focus, which will make them appeal to the public. It is much easier for a pop star to establish their personality and character than a film star for example, purely for the fact that they have much more consistency. A pop stars persona is constructed but is continually reconstructed and reassessed. Second album syndrome is when an artist is unable to sustain their particular persona overtime.

Star image will be relevant to my work because we will consider many of these aspects when producing out music video, digi pack and magazine advert. When choosing our band members, we will need to think about what image they would have and what style would suit the band and appeal to the target audience. We will also need to think about what sort of a recognised sign that our band will use throughout all their albums and merchandise so that they will instantly be recognised by their fans.

We are going to support the theory of Star Image by using the same font throughout our digipak which will be widely recognised and associated with the band. 

By Amy Thrush