Looking at Websites: Ariana Grande

I began looking at websites as a component of music campaigns. I compared the websites of Ariana Grande and Rihanna, both very popular artists but of different styles and iconographies. 

http://www.arianagrande.com/home/


The viewer is first greeted with an introduction page, which allows you to immediately listen to the number one single on her new album Dangerous Woman on Spotify. And on the right, you are able to buy her merchandise immediately. 


On her official website home page, the first thing you see are Grande's music and concert videos from her latest album. The layout is clean, slick, and modern. And we see conventions of purity that are associated with Grande, from the black and white backgrounds.

The purpose of this website is to get the audience to listen to her music and buy merchandise. The website is very simple and clean, not overwhelming the user with information. This allows more sales as more users can access them easily from the website.



The website also has links to social media websites and an option to sign in/register. Users can sign up to the mailing list to find out the latest news and discuss Grande and her music in forums and social media. The register also allows fans to be entered into special competitions and more info, connecting Grande to her fans more personally.

Although Grande is a popular well-known idol among a younger audience, there is very little biography about her personal life or music career. The homepage simply introduces the audience to her image, music and merchandise. Grande is sold on her image and not her personality.

This website is targeted mainly for a younger audience of 12-25 years. Grande has already attracted a young audience from her Nickelodeon show Sam and Cat, so continues to sell towards that young audience as they are guaranteed sales. Her website is easy to use, simple, minimalistic, and modern. it is suitable for all abilities and ages, but mainly targeted towards females. It is evident from the style of merchandise shown on the homepage that the apparel is more feminine and not something a man would wear. The navigation bar of social media icons appeal to a more technological audience who will share Grande's work through the internet.


Grande's website includes symbolic conventions of a strong feminine artist but with a fun loving side. In the introduction web page which allows you to proceed to the official webpage or allows instant access to merchandise, there is also an option to click on the tea. The loading bar displays 'brewing...' which conveys an ideology of Grande being fun and bubbly. Furthermore, through comparison of her website now and her website a few years ago (above), you notice that her updated current website is much more sleek, minimal and monochromic. These symbolic conventions of the website's colour palette are used to match her new album "Dangerous Woman" and sends the overall ideology that Grande is trying to rid herself from her "Disney" image and grow up into a more mature and alluring woman. This ideology is particularly expressed through the mise-en-scene through the bunny costume and makeup in Grande's album covers and photographs. 


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