N.B - Album Cover Analysis

The album cover above is for Matt Wertz’s album ‘Everything In Between’. It was released on the 27th of February 2007 and fits into the genre of indie acoustic singer-songwriter. You get this impression from the cover which is of Matt Wertz himself with simple text stating his name and album title. Also, the cover of the album features plain, neutral colours that are generic conventions in this specific genre. The layout of the cover means that readers will first see the text ‘Matt Wertz’ and by following the typical reading layout, they will then see the text ‘Everything In Between’. These are the two most important things on this cover as it tells the reader who the artist is and what their album is called. Continuing with the reading layout, the reader would then see Matt Wertz himself. He is stood leaning against a wall which appears to be a balcony by what is seen in the background. You only see the top half of his body which takes up about 50% of the entire cover. Another clever technique that is used is that Matt Wertz is actually looking at the text that appears on the cover which draws the eyes of the reader back to the text and emphasises the importance of the text. Something interesting about this cover is that the album is titled ‘Everything In Between’ and Matt Wertz is positioned on a balcony between two walls and so the thing in between the two walls is Matt Wertz himself. This could mean that this album is about everything to do with Matt Wertz. Also, the background is of a city which looks quite urban and so it connotes that Matt Wertz is not something different and out there but he is plain, simple and fun. I think that the only meaning generated from this image is that Matt Wertz is a laidback character because of his slouched posture and smart/casual clothing. There are no references to popular culture in this album cover and so this artist won’t immediately attract people in this sense. Richard Dyer’s star theory explains that an artist is only seen to have a star persona when they are both ordinary and extraordinary and both absent and present. This is apparent in Matt Wertz’s album cover as he appears on the cover (present) but is looking away from the audience (absent). I think that this album would be consumed actively if someone is purposefully searching for it but also passively when people are looking for something else but come across this or quickly glance at it whilst they skim past it. I also think that this album would be consumed by a very large audience from the age of anything between 13 and above because his music appeals to a very wide audience.