1) https://thedivinecomedy.com/ - The Divine Comedy
Neil Hannon is a Northern Irish singer and songwriter. He is the creator and frontman of the chamber pop group The Divine Comedy and is the band's sole constant member. Hannon wrote the theme tunes for the television sitcoms Father Ted and The IT Crowd.
The Divine Comedy's website proves to me to be the epitome of digital convergence (in this case from the album cover to the website). This website provides multiple links to social media, an about section, a shop section for merchandise, the latest music videos and a comprehensive list of every album released under The Divine Comedy.
With the release of Hannon's latest album "Charmed Life", the website has undergone a transformation including cross media convergent references to the flowers on the album, the same gold/yellow colour scheme and the same typeface. The website is easy to navigate with information available under each heading on the header. The Divine Comedy does not have a well-known logo, instead, its "logo" is simply the name of the band in a consistent font.
The footer to the website has a newsletter that readers may sign up to, more links to social media and a continuation of the flower theme.
The Divine Comedy's website encompasses several aspects I'd like to include and build into my own website, especially the consistent theme and easy accessibility to the audience.
2) https://www.belleandsebastian.com/ - Belle & Sebastian
Belle and Sebastian are a Scottish indie pop band formed in Glasgow in 1996. Led by Stuart Murdoch, the band has released eleven albums. They are often compared with acts such as The Smiths and Nick Drake. Though consistently lauded by critics, Belle & Sebastian's "wistful pop" has enjoyed only limited commercial success.
Belle & Sebastian's website is similar to The Divine Comedy's in terms of conventions. It has a very similar layout with a distinct colour scheme that links directly to their newest album. Further down the page is a list of tour dates, videos, merchandise, a newsletter and social media.
The tabs along the header have news on the band and a gallery, as well as an expanded shop to what's seen on the homepage. Under the heading "The Band" is a button to a link called "Stuarts Diary", which gives fans a more in-depth relationship with the band members.
A social media feed of the official Instagram is present on the website, which manually updates with each new post. A lot of the website is present on the first page, compiling all of the information. Under each heading, the website just expands on what has already been stated.
3) https://www.hstyles.co.uk/ - Harry Styles
Harry Styles is an English singer, songwriter, and actor. His musical career began in 2010 as a solo contestant on the British music competition series The X Factor. Following his elimination, he was brought back to join the boy band One Direction, which went on to become one of the best-selling boy groups of all time before going on an indefinite hiatus in 2016.
Harry's newest album, "Harry's House" is his third album. The single "As It Was" became critically acclaimed, reaching both #1 in The UK and The USA. Harry's website reflects his newest album, with the cover centre of the website, and the first thing audiences will see. The layout is very minimal, with only streaming services under the title "Harry's House", and only three headings. For Harry's target demographic, I feel the simplicity of the website and little information work with the shorter attention span of the demographic.
The site doesn't have much cross-media convergence, due to its simplicity, but it does still have a newsletter, links to social media and the newest music videos.
There isn't any information or an "about" section on Harry, which I personally feel connects him less to his audience, but may potentially pose him as even more aspirational. Harry isn't that publicly available, and it may just link in more to his mysterious persona.
Several conventions from each of these websites prove useful to what a website needs. Doing research into these has been helpful to what I want to include, and has given me more ideas to include. On my website, I'd like to do collaboration with a potential charity or brand, and I'd like to include an easter egg of some sort, once something is clicked on.
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