The use of a homepage

The homepage is an element of a music campaign which keeps artists in the public eye and raises awareness and demand for their merchandise. The websites contribute to creation of a star image by containing pictures of the artists, updates on their professional or even personal lives and artworks that reflect the image of the artists and their genre of music. There are also sections of information about the related events and products to promote their consumption.

I selected two home websites of performers in rap and rock music genres to compare how their design would differ according to the reflected artists.

The target audience for modern rap is the young generation of approximately 14 to 25 years old. The sharp contrast between violent colours of red, white and black colours is a symbolic convention that connotes the rebellious nature of the rap genre, which goes as far as challenging the law. This appeals to members of the audience who are in their adolescence and are inclined to a radical mindset and behaviour and to the young people who are passionate and energetic. The minimalistic outline is suitable for the youth who are used to straightforward, maximally informative messages sent by the new media, as well as reflecting the rap genre that is based on recitation of lyrics to a beat, with melodies serving as decorations and often being more simple than in the other music genres. The website exhibits merchandise related to its star, one can see products such as CDs and t-shirts being displayed on the front page and a clear "shop" section. The star image is created by photos of Eminem, his music videos and related events posted on the website. The overall ideology of the website coincides with the star's: a rebellious and ruthless attitude.

The band has songs in all types of rock; blues, alternative, hard rock and rock and roll. The variety is conveyed in the artwork used for the homepage; a colourful and surrealistic image of a wolf with gothic typeface of the band's name. It reflects the band's creativity and the dark, almost aggressive nature of the rock genre. This appeals to the target audience of 16 to 30 years old, energetic individuals searching or building their purpose in life and thus attracted to imaginative concepts. The website builds the star image of the band with other artworks, music videos and photographs of the band, as well as updates of news related to them. The merchandise is promoted by proposing a purchase of their new albums displayed on the front page and clearly visible sections of the tours' timetable and the shop.

Both websites have the same purpose: to promote the artists and to increase the sales of products related to them. They both use images, videos and articles to build a star image and display sections for purchases of the merchandise. However, due to the difference in genres their designs and structures contrast. One is darker and more simplistic to another, with designs adopted to appeal to the fans of the music genre. Eminem is an established artist while Rival Sons is still a developing band, thus Eminem's website builds on his popularity by concealing his images in the beginning and focusing on the merchandise and keeping the design basic, as if teasing the audience before they can see his image. If the performers were on the same level of fame I would say that Rival Sons homepage is more successful as it attracts audience's attention quicker by appealing to the audience visually with interesting artworks and photographs, while Eminem's website is text based and has less eye-catching images. However, the facts are contrary since Eminem is one of the world's biggest celebrities.