James Blunt - Website Analysis

James Blunt, is a British pop rock/soft rock artist who was born in 1974. The ex-captain in the British Service is now a highly successful musician and singer-songwriter. He has released 4 albums in his music career and has his own website (http://www.jamesblunt.com/home.htm?force=show).

Facebook Profile Link

 The site is used by James Blunt to reach as many fans as possible. Within the 3 column layout there are multiple social media links such as an image of his Facebook page and a custom widget of his twitter account, including a live scroll of his most recent tweets. Many people know about Blunt’s twitter antics. He is renowned for his witty comebacks at twitter ‘haters’ and his comedic approach to social media is one reason he has over 1 million followers on twitter and over 6 million likes on his Facebook page. These social media widgets are all displayed in a silver coloured box with small graphics of pop rivets in the corners to give the effect of a music deck or amp. These widget designs reflect his pop-rock genre and create a more personal element to his website.

Menu Tabs

At the top of the homepage there is a full width header which features 9 separate tabs. The tabs can be used to navigate around the website. Each tab/button has been designed to look like a button you may find at the top of a classic amplifier. In fact, the design of the whole home page has been done in a way that makes it look like an amp. Another thing that is good about the tabs is that when you hover over then with the cursor they fall back and glow so that they look like a backlit button being pushed in on a speaker. The idea of an amp is good because it matches the genre of Blunt’s music. It’s also quite interactive and amusing which suits his music which is often humorous and fun.

 Furthermore, the background of the website is also very suited to James Blunt’s music and more specifically his 4^th album, ‘Moon Landing’. The Album, released in 2013, featured the single ‘Bonfire heart’ and songs such as ‘Postcards’ and ‘Bones’. The background of the website is a large dark image of a board with images of moon, earth and depictions of early sketches of the solar system as we know it. The background of the website was changed when ‘Moon Landing’ was released. This adds to the synchronisation between the website and the artist’s music itself.

Video Gallery

 One key feature which allows for the commercialisation and advertisement of Blunt's music is the gallery/music video feature. This is a small window which can be used to listen to/watch the latest media products produced by the British artist. This dynamic element of the website allows the

audience to consume the media straight from the website without having to visit an alternative site such as YouTube.

One other key feature of the website is the inclusion of tour dates and ticket prices for the upcoming year. This provides people with an easy opportunity to book tickets and increases sales making bigger profits for James Blunt and his team.