MUSIC ICONOGRAPHY

Coldplay

HOW DO THEIR PRODUCTS APPEAL TO A TARGET AUDIENCE?

Recently Coldplay have adopted using the theme of brightly coloured graffiti which is something that is often associated with the youth culture of today. The graffiti can be found on the Coldplay website, album covers and even the bands own personal instruments. There is a photo that the band uses where they are put in a rundown urban area with the graffiti, which again would connote that the band is trying to appeal to a young target audience, if Coldplay were successful in reaching a younger target audience it means their fan base would have expanded allowing them to sell more records.

WHAT ARE THEIR IDEOLOGICAL VALUES?

From just the apparel of Coldplay I think that some of their main ideologies are that they understand and are trying to give the younger generations a voice in todays society. This is shown by their reoccurring use of graffiti and placement in urban environments. In addition to their link with the younger generations they also seemed to be marketed towards adults who grew up in the 70s around the hippy era where over the top vibrant colours were often used. If this is true then another one of the ideologies could be that they believe everyone is equal so thats why theyre trying to appeal to such a broad audience.

WHAT GENRE ARE THEY AND HOW DO YOU KNOW?

Indie There are always four members of them in their photos which would mean they were an ensemble of some sort, most likely a rock band. However they are usually dressed too well in the photos to be considered proper rock stars which would narrow the field down to a Pop Rock band or an Indie band. Once the choices have been narrowed down and we look at the setting they are placed in and any reoccurring themes, we are able to make the decision that they are Indie, as Indie bands are unique and quite underground which relates to the urban setting. In addition in many of their music videos they have interesting and unique ideas and props displayed which relates to the Indie music genre.

HOW HAVE THEY CREATED SYNERGY ACROSS THREE PLATFORMS?

The graffiti is a constant reoccurrence throughout their website, music videos, instruments and photos which is one of the ways they have created synergy over multiple platforms. The urban environment that they are shown to be in is also a reoccurring theme and is played on a lot during music videos and photo shoots of the band and also for their CD covers.