WEB 2.0 LOGO GENERATOR AC/DC get social Power Up

An easy enough idea for a student production to replicate (simulacra) with Photoshop...

Kerrang! on AC/DC logo generator.

WEBSITE some home pages and banners compared

You have a few fundamental decisions to make early in the construction and design of your site:

• BANNER this should tie in with icons/banners for all social media, and will often change to reflect the latest album release or tour
• TOP LINKS any decent website has clear, specific top-links, accessible on every page for quick navigation through the site. 4 or 5 (sometimes 6) is the norm. Some will include dropdown menus with sub-pages. 'Contact' or 'social media' shouldn't be one of these as those icons should also be on every page AND their content featured heavily throughout
• COLOURSCHEME/OVERALL LOOK there should be a clear feel throughout the site. That doesn't necessarily mean the same background colour/image, but there should some clear feel of consistency

Here are a few homepages/banners to consider:

Sample website banners top links from DB3igs

ADAM ANT
He started out as a late 70s punk, but became one of the biggest selling 80s pop artists, and a key pioneer of the epic MTV music video, and continues to record and tour today. He has TWO official sites, one for the US and one primarily for the UK.
AdamAntNET

The US site has 6 top links, and a poorly designed banner - odd for an artist famed for tightly controlling and self-designing so much of his own artwork over the years. The forum is in heavy use - 0.5m posts, including recent additions. Note the emphasis on merchandise and live dates, a clear reflection of how artists tend to monetise their work these days. 'Features' is an odd mish-mash of many things; this could do with a dropdown sub-menu. There actually is a mouse hover submenu, but its a graphic only, and disappears when you move the mouse or click on Features. I also note that clicking through to merchandise prices appear in euros but there is a separate banner for a US store on the homepage for that separate site.

DIGIPAK vodcast

A vodcast taking you through some common conventions (a top ten), looking at some of the relevant videos on YouTube (company demos, fan vids, Photoshop guides, coursework Evaluations), research tips, and how this fits into a wider promotional package incorporating a music video, CD/DVD digipak sleeve and magazine ads for the digipak.

FINANCE & MERCHANDISE: band wine

We've clearly established the importance of pushing tour dates within an ad ostensibly for a digipak, and also the usefulness of pushing an official fansite URL (it is likely these days to feature a subscription package). Here's another example of how bands are seeking to generate revenue outwith sales of their music:

Slayer‘s music is certainly meant to be consumed with an accompanying libation. So it’s no surprise that the band has launched its very own brand of wine, much like Motorhead and AC/DC before them. The first beverage in the brand is Slayer Reign in Blood Red. The Cabernet Sauvignon from California is available solely in Sweden right now, so it’s not like you can cruise on over to the local liquor retailer to nab a bottle for dinner. Yet.
Reign in Blood Red features dark berry fruits and spicy, oak flavors. What could go better with ‘Angel of Death,’ ‘Mandatory Suicide’ or ‘Dead Skin Mask’ than a nice, tall glass of Reign in Blood Red? It’s not lost on us that the band chose red wine as opposed to white for its first foray into the liquor realm.
Rock band-branded wines are popping up with increasing frequency and it’s a smart association, reaching the fans in a totally different way. Besides, what looks cooler on the table than a tall, sleek bottle of wine with a Slayer logo stamped prominently on the front of it?
Go here to check out more details on Reign in Blood Red and to order if you can’t wait to toss some back.

Here's a more detailed rundown, via Roadrunner Records:

California thrash metal legends SLAYER have released their own Sweden-exclusive red wine. The name of the wine, "Reign In Blood", is taken from the band's classic album, which came out in 1986.

In the past few years, hard rock acts like MOTÖRHEAD, AC/DC and KISS have all launched their own wines, and now it's time for SLAYER to join in the battle for the thirsty metalheads, reports Dante Thomsen of the Swedish business magazine Dagens Media.

Behind the launch is the start-up company Brands For Fans.

The fact that Sweden is the first market to enjoy the "Reign In Blood" wine is a well-thought-out strategy.

"Sweden is a good market to start with," says Brands For Fans founder Sari H Wilholm. "We are a small country but we have incredibly dedicated fans, which makes it worthwhile to do the test launch in Sweden."

For the launch, Brands For Fans hired Agent Kommunikation, which designed the bottle and wrote the press release.

According to Wilholm, the response to the wine has been astounding. If the wine is successful, she hopes to export it to other countries.

"The demand has been enormous; we never expected it to be quite like this," she says. "Given the reactions, there seems to be a lot of SLAYER fans out there. Especially the response we have received from Finland, which has a lot of metalheads."

When asked why it was a good idea to launch a SLAYER wine, Wilholm tells Dagens Media, "I think people understand that SLAYER would never sell their name without having been involved throughout the process and having tried and approved the product. That kind of commitment, I think, is different from other artists who release similar products."

She adds, "It is quite unexpected for a band like SLAYER to release a wine, but they are just ordinary guys who like the same things as you and I do."

The wine, a Cabernet Sauvignon from California, is as uncomprimising and tough as the band. After a couple of Seasons in the Abyss, the wine has an undisputed attitude and a soft nose of dark berry fruits with oak and spicy nuances. Good mouth feel with hints of fresh fruit and juicy, smooth tannins. Well structured and rounded with subtle notes of oak, showing true Divine Intervention. Enjoy it while headbanging, riffing or with food, friends and great music. Reign in Wine!

Name: SLAYER "Reign In Blood" Red Cabernet Sauvignon
Item No.: 74527-09
Year: 2010
Grape: Cabernet Sauvignon
Origin: California, USA
Quantity: 6 bottles (cardboard)
Price: 714 SEK (approximately $107) per cardboard box (6 bottles)

GENRE: Gregorian Chants/Metal mash

AC/DC's Hells Bells as Gregorian chants... click on the pic for info on a good eg of postmodern hybridity: