Cobra Starship are an American Alternative Dance band that consists of five members and like many new artists have the internet to thank for their fame. When entering their official MySpace page the first thing the visitor sees is the name of their band and an image of them. The font is recognisable to existing fans due to it being the same to that of their newest album “Hot Mess” though, for those who are not yet fans, the font, is still eye catching. The very top of the page only establishes the bands name and image, not the album until later down the page. The font has a retro theme of it and is very unconventional, an idea that the band want to portray of themselves and their music. The font is multi coloured but in a a subtle way compared to maybe a highlighted bright font. It makes it seem less laree. The writing of their band name is very different compared to the that of their previous album covers like Viva La Cobra, this may have something to do with a change in management in between making albums. The writing is then contrasted against the block lettering of their actual album title and the words “The new single” underneath the man image. They have chosen to change the colour of the album name to the introduction to make it stand out that bit better. This makes it seem more of a statement.
The main image of the site is the whole band. It was originally a long shot but they have covered the legs up with their music video and album details. The image has been slightly texturised and noise has been created over it to play on the retro old aspect, it also makes the band less recognisable. This suggests maybe they want their music and image to be slightly separate. The image is hardly photoshopped which is obvious through the fact that not even the red eye has been removed. The shot looks slightly home taken, much like many of their videos; therefore they have linked the two. The woman is the only person not looking at the camera and her vocals are rarely obvious in their music suggesting she has a less important role in the band. The costume of the band are all slightly individual, they have small aspects that make each person individually pop. The main singer is obvious through his brighter colour choices. Overtop of the image is their latest video and details on their album. This suggests that their work is more important then them themselves. The background of the MySpace is striped black and white. The black has connotations of punk and the white of innocence so it reflects their changing personalities and music. The promotion of their new album is obvious here where they have put an image of it and a link to ITunes to purchase it at the top of the page.
Here there is a pop out music player with songs from their latest album. This allows the viewer to listen to the whole song at their own leisure though it does not let you download it for free. This gives the audience an incentive to visit the page which allows promoters of the artist plug merchandise or tours. Next to this are pictures of the band actually some what childish showing that they may not take much seriously, an idea that they like to show. It lets the fans see them in a more personal way. The contact information underneath this is for fans to get in touch. This would be an important feature to put on a fan site because it makes the artist more approachable. From underneath the header onwards there is a particular colour scheme of black, yellow and white. There are no real feminine colours suggesting that the bands target audience may be a young male one. It also makes them seem more quirky, a characteristic of their personalities and music.
There is a long list of dates underneath this that are listed as shows. This allows fans to see upcoming tours for example and the way it is spread across lets you see which city it is in. This clearly provides the fans with reliable sources of information. There are also links to buy the tickets which may mean that people would be more willing to buy tickets because it is simple and legitimate. To the left are individual pictures of each member and their twitter page. This not only cross promotes another fan site but also introduces you to each member. Newer fans would find this very helpful because they would of course not know who is who yet so this sets it out easier.
The blog section underneath makes the whole MySpace more personal because they are providing something they would not get anywhere else even if they were not to put them up themselves. The merchandise section underneath this shows clothing and accessories that you can buy promoting the band as well as the album. The merchandise shown has also been featured in some of their videos so it would allow the fan to feel as if they were a part of the video.
There if a small section on the bands information featuring their official website, home town and label. I would of thought that this would be promoted more though it shows that the label is more concerned for promoting their band. There is as well a list and pictures of their previous albums to show how they have changed as well as selling their own stuff. It being pictures makes it that bit more visual.
There is also numerous chances for the fans to interact with the band like a music video mixer, chat room, ringtone purchase and a saynow number. This makes Cobra Starship seem that bit more personal and fun, as I have said a message they hope to portray a lot in their music.
There is then of course a strip of their music videos. They have not just used one screen shot but a few to make them look more animated and give small previews almost. These links seem very popular and provide links to allow you to download and buy them. This again is a simple enough link.
There is also a lot of promotional and support stuff near the end of the page which all features their name and links to certain things. The comment section at the end of the page allows fans to write to the band in a more public way. This seems very popular with a younger audience and allows a greater interaction.This analysis of Cobra Starships MySpace has allowed me to look in-depth into why certain features are used on a bands website. Though the band is not at all similar to our artist we will still want to use certain parts of it in our own way to promote our artist.
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