Looking at similar album artwork

Before designing individual artworks for the album of our artist, we analysed the artworks used by other artists of the genre to understand what generic conventions persist. The albums we chose for the analysis of generic conventions in music videos were Stories by Avicii, Collage by Chainsmokers and Animals by Martin Garrix, so these are the ones I will also use for the analysis of designs.

Unlike most album covers, the front of Collage doesn't have a distinct image of the artist. Although the two DJs of Chainsmokers are present on the photos that make up the artwork, it would not be possible for the audience who are unaware of the musicians' appearance to tell who of the depicted people are the artists that the record label is trying to sell them. Here are the examples of other famous electronic artists who still have visuals of themselves on their album covers despite their popularity: 

Moby

Deadmau5 (the artist wears the mask of a mouse when he performs on stage, thus the helmet represents himself)

Nevertheless, the cover adheres all the generic conventions of the electronic. Abstractionism is common in album designs of the genre because of the frequent lack of lyrics and the high diversity of the sound which give the audience several alternatives for its interpretation, in the same way that abstract art can have various effects on visual senses of observers. The symbolic conventions are further adhered by the use of colours; the compilation of bright dyes aligns with the colourful style of many works of the genre, because the electronic music is associated with nightlife and excitement. This way, the design creates interest of the Chainsmokers' target audience as they become aware of the album's content and willing to consume it as they believe that their expectations of music in the electronic genre will be fulfilled.

The Collage design constructs the image of the star as a commodity by providing limited information about the artist and incentivising the audience to consume the star's products to complete their knowledge about the star. In this way, the star image built by the artwork benefits the record label in a way that it ensures that the audience continually buys its merchandise. 

This is the front cover of Avicii's Stories. The biggest difference between the generic conventions of the design for Collage and for Stories is in the artist's presence, which is a feature that is effective in raising the public awareness and increasing consumption, and thus is implemented in the majority of album designs of the genre. The greater spectrum of colours connotes that Avicii's music is more fast pace and intense in nature than the Chainsmokers'. The costume he wears intents to attract attention of his target audience by imitating the style of their outfits and indicating that Avicii's mindset is similar to theirs and therefore his products would satisfy their preferences.

The cover of this album by Martin Garrix adheres the generic conventions of the surreal nature of the electronic music. The design reflects the album's content by symbolising it with a roaring lion, informing the target audience that this is the music they demand. The use of the contrast between white and black adheres the symbolic convention of the genre in its association with the nightlife. Although it doesn't include an image of the artist, his name is easily distinguishable together with the album's title. The record label may consider this information enough to create demand for the product, considering the existence of the artist's high popularity.