Analysis of a Digipak (McFly - Radioactive)

Radioactive is McFly's 4th studio album, released in July 2008 and it has sold well over 90,000 copies in the UK. The Radioactive digipak, has six panels in the orthodox style of pull out, and has a CD, DVD combination, also with a 32 page booklet from the band, and a single panel pull out of dates of their upcoming tour. The digipak has also gone worldwide, reaching the platinum certification in Brazil were it sold over 100,000 copies. The album includes singles such as 'One for the Radio' and 'Lies' which both reached the top 5 in the UK Singles Chart.

This is the front cover/panel:

This front panel portrays the band, to the audience clearly because they haven't been as well established as much as of artist. It also incorporates loud, vibrant colour to grab any audience attention when on the shelf, it also includes drawings or rough sketching’s used, which links with the Radioactive theme. As the sketching is of a microphone that has mouth, showing when exposed to radioactive material evolution can occur, linking the title to the narrative, whilst also involving a drawing for the younger audience that this band and album are aimed towards.

Below is the middle three panels:

These middle three panels follow the same style as firstly a traditional digipak with a pouch for a pull-out usually booklet, the CD in the middle and a DVD on the making of or a tour. Secondly it continues with the radioactive theme with the radioactive green colour, and also the mutant microphone. The CD and DVD have both been adapted slightly in order for the audience which for this band is female kids through to teens, makes it easier to separate between them, it also adds another colour dimension one which carries on the theme throughout.

Here is the pull out booklet and single panel tour date pull out:

Front panel of the tour dates pull out

Front cover of the pull out booklet

Back panel of the pull out tour dates



 All of these pull outs, follow the theme of the whole digipak, however the pull out of the tour dates front cover, has the most color throughout and is comprised of pictures from their previous tours of all the band members. The booklet itself contains various pictures, from a photo-shoot to advertise the band members and make them recognizable to the audience, also holds the producers and relevant information about each song in the album, and finally has a thank you message from each of the band members to the producers and the companies and people involved in making the album, as well as the audience for supporting them.

The tour dates pull-out has all the information on where they will be playing and where to get tickets from: aimed at publicizing the band and tour even more to an audience which already has the album and therefore more prone to going to the tour.

The overall aesthetic feel of the digipak, is grabbing and definitely stands out at the audience, with the bright colours, cool sketching drawings and unorthodox digipak style which shows that they could be adding a new dimension to there music and overall feel.