webpage Analysis (AO4)

Webpage analysis

Here, my task is to analyse many conventions, institution, audience appeal demonstrating a strong understanding of how the webpage reflects Rihanna's label and star persona with reference to audience appeal. This is Rihanna's website http://www.rihannanow.com/

Universal Music Group is the largest group of record labels in the recording industry. It is the largest of the ''big four'' record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations. Universal Music Group is a wholly owned subsidiary of international French media conglomerate Vivendi.

Additionally, Universal Music Group is the largest group of record labels in the recording industry. It is the largest of the ''big four'' record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations. Universal Music Group is a wholly owned subsidiary of international French media conglomerate Vivendi. This will mean that Rihanna's high-profile status, professional reputation and the amount of records she sells through Universal will make her a millionaire.

Ont the front page of Rihanna's website, she's got her main image which connotes she is the dominate figure of her website. It's all about her making her more appealing to her target audience.
Additionally, her main image looks very flirtatious, in confidence, sexy, sassy, seductive and attractive as her red hair connotes the dual personality of her which is either seductive, intimacy and passionate. Or, powerful, dominate, controlling and has authority over her target audience.

The fact, that she is signed to a major label means that the company has more funding which enables them to use elaborated, extensive and powerful in the media market companies or institutes to enable Rihanna to be exposed to the maximum extend.

Rihanna is the main image on the website connoting dominance, her one eye gazing to the audience attracting intense and firm attention to her facial expression and her one eye looks as if she is keeping a track on us. Meaning, like a God above us. This can make us feel that she is not showing a complete side of herself, she's mysterious, concealed, her image makes us as fans/viewer more excited and desire even more to know a lot about her, see a lots of her. This brainwashing processes becomes even more obsessive and wanted. 

At an instant, we can instantly tell that this website is based on Rihanna through the introducement, at the instant, clicking of the hyperlink on Google Rihanna's website of her music on a radio

On the main image, Rihanna looks modern, professional, silk, wealthy, smooth skinned,  intelligent,  

Content

As Rihanna is signed to Def Jam Recordings which is parented by Universal Music Group. This clearly connotes that Universal will spend a lots of money to promote, advertise and publish Rihanna globally through the use of different media texts such as her website, commercials, music video, CD cover and so on. That will mean that Rihanna will gain more fame and fortune. This will make it more appealing to the target audience because young teenage girls prefer Rihanna to be famous and wealthy.

As it is a major record label, this mean that the company is highly wealthy, powerful, is able to synergies with a lots of companies, and it's super-conglomerate company.

The major record label also means that it's a mainstream music production reaching mass audiences.  

 They will be able to promote Rihanna through a variety of different media texts such as synergies with Facebook, MySpace, Blogger, YouTube,       

Hotspots this contains all the available recent songs tracks of Rihanna which makes Rihanna's website the most visited website because it has got her target audience's favourite  songs and this way they will be persuade to even check the video's on YouTube, talk about it on Facebook, Twitter or MySpace. As a result , more of her merchandises such as her Cd's will be bought. This clearly appeals to her target audience.

This hyperlink encourages Rihanna's visitors or fans to read more and be more informed about Rihanna through her website links. This clearly shows that Rihanna's website is not just one website but it has got a broad array of other links and sites attached to it creating a myriad of information just about one artist, Rihanna. Visitors could be hours on Rihanna's website and they will be offered with lots of entertainments.

This is particularly appealing to her target audience as teenagers are are always on Internet and there are multitude of website linked to Rihanna which they can visit in just a click of a button.

Interactivity includes all the high reputations/status awards creating fame, fortune and popularity.  

The awards are an indication to her record label. Meaning, Universal has had access through their wealthy budget to make her so successful and most desired artist that she wins 4 sophisticated and honourable grammies. This clearly denotes how successful and well known Rihanna has become through her recording label creating a structed star persona which targets her target audience.

Above is a picture which I took from Rihanna's website where her vistors on her website can sign in or login for Rihanna's newsletter. This clearly connotes that as Rihanna is signed to a major recording label she is able to have her own login accessed on her website. It also denotes that label Rihanna is signed to has got a wealthy budget to be able to set a login. This means more time and money is required to set up these logins.

Most importantly, the major recording label reflects the genre of music Rihanna is promoting in its overall design.

Live streaming is the best strategy to create this sense of realism in Rihanna's songs and she her in live videos. Her star persona is clearly visible through her videos above, especially her funky clothing line is exposed which makes her fans imitate her and they want to be or look like her through cloning her star persona. Teenagers are influenced by artist's star persona and appeals to teenagers as they are the future generation and they can be easily inspired by Rihanna's star persona.

Universal Music Group co-developed Vevo, a site designed for music videos inspired by Hulu.com, which similarly, will allow for free, ad-supported streaming of music videos and other music content. The music videos are shown in better quality than the original ones on YouTube. See below  for an example of the ''Vevo'' logo provided for evidence.  This is denotes her star persona, the music label Rihanna is signed to which shows how much Universal is emphasising to use all the possible media texts such as videos, websites and many more different media outlets. These are all produced to appeal to her target audience which is teenagers. Again, it demonstrates her star persona through her videos and the use of streaming.

The navigation bar contains a variety of ways to finding your way to different websites. It is mainly positioned in the UN which shows dollars and all the other instutes linked to Rihanna's website particularly based in the United States of America. This clearly shows that the website is so popular that it has to go global for fans or audiences to access it.

Interestingly, the typography is in Italics with a pink colour and the background is pink which connites that Rihanna's website appeals both to her primary and secondary audiences. Pink using the conventional colour that represents her femininity, girly and flattering side which is more appealling to her seocodary target audience as it is younh female girls. Whereas, the use of her red hair colour appeals more to her male primary target audience which shows her sexual, seductive, and lusting side.



Multimedia content

Universal is using different media outlets to promote Rihanna in the best way. Particularly, using other companies to expose Rihanna's star persona, image, songs and clothing line to her target audience.

The above picture, Rihanna synergized with Kodak camera's and other artists signed to different record labels. Promoting is done through offering discounts and offers will persuade the customers to purchase the product. As people see that celebraties own these type of Kodak camera's, they will be more likely to purchase the product for fame and popularity. Also, major labels will be linked with major companies.

Multinational and successfull companies like Kodak will be more prolonged to synergize with each other because they are wealthy, successfull, have highly competent professionals, advanced technological or media skills and have more access oppertunities with other powerful companies which enables all of the institutes to cooperate together and both institutes will benefits from synergizing.

 

This is an example of  Rihanna synergizing with Tweeter. This is very essential as fans and her target audience wants to know more about her and get the oppertunity to even talk to her on Tweeter. This will persuade them to visit the website more and become ideologically obsessed with Rihanna's looks, songs and her merchandises which are sold on this website.

As you can see, the hyperlink ''Follow Rihanna'' leads her target audience to another website which contains more exciting information about Rihanna. This persuades fans to know more about Rihanna.

Also, as Rihanna is signed to a major recording label she can be easily promoted, marketed, published and advertised through different media texts and one of this is her website.

 MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are the social networking sites which would be an easy way for musicians to get their sound out to the public. It's services are free and easy to set up. Hereby, would many fans comment on Rihanna as their favourite artist and send files related to Rihanna to each other making her more well known and interesting to gossip or talk about. That is also what Rihanna and Universal want to be searched as often as possible on Google, MySpace, Facebook, YouTube so that they can earn more money through merchandise or concert tickets and so on.

These websites like MySpace, press coverage, advertising, viral online campaigns. Universal uses a range of techniques. They advertise singles launches on MySpace font page and the artists MySpace blog as well as on Facebook and the artists twitter pages.

Universal works in collaboration with Kodak camera's has used artists like Rihanna and other artists signed to different record labels to promote and publish the camera in US for both of the companies benefits and they both earn the same profit.

Most importantly, synergy connoting wealth, popularity and expertise.

LOGO

The R logo represents Rihanna's star persona as a rocky star, animalistic or rather aggressive sexual lust through the use of the sharp and straight lines in the R logo and her main image. This is a simple appeal for a mass audience as people around the world will recognise that this R logo made this way is representing Rihanna. Yet also, the other part of her logo name is writen in italics and the letters are following each other from the end bits as if it's Rihanna's signiture or her own writing.

This gives a sense of personal feeling, attachment, and conventionally pink colour representing her femininity.

The URL is ''.com'' which will mean it is a website operating worldwide and anyone can have access to it at anytime. It is important to mention that, when making a website for a multi-platinum seller like Rihanna you will need a lot of money to be able to, literally, pay for every single distribution channels. This will mean that you need to pay for advertise, publish, market and promote Rihanna's music. Hereby, the artist will be know globally and by just a click of a button you can find overloading information using any media texts on Internet, TV, radio and so on.

Rihanna signed a contract to Def Jam Records in 2004 aged 16 parented by Universal Music Groups.  Her image was portrayed as this very naturally beautiful, innocent, vulnerable, youthful and fresh singer. As time passed by, her media identity didn't appeal to her target audience anymore as they lost interested because Rihanna by then was an ordinary young female just like any other artists. In order, to sell her multinational music, she had to have a complete makeover and look unique, extraordinary and out of the domain from the other artists in the music market.

As you can see her main image, appear really attractive, eye-catching, seductive, mysterious, rebellious  as her ''rebelle fleur'' tattoo is clearly visible as well. The web page reflects her record label as she has got many conventions of a web page available connoting that Universal will use every single approach that enables them to make Rihanna famous and known universally. Rihanna reflects her record company's name ''Universal'' by her being known ''universally''. Rihanna's music and image is  globalized through cyber networks, music channels, websites, social networking sites and many more.