Art of Album Covers

THE ART OF

ALBUM COVERS

31.12.23

ISSUE #02

5 MIN READ

I was recently gifted a Tame Impala vinyl, Currents is one of my favourite and an all time classic. Despite not being a collector, I have always wanted to own 2 vinyls simply for the love that I have for the albums; Currents and Random Access Memories by Daft Punk. To be honest, it's not limited to the emotional attachment I have to the music, I am obsessed with their album art as well. Going against the common rhetoric of not judging a book by its cover, I do the opposite. I judge a book by its cover and even more, judge a song by its album art.

The artwork on album covers is crucial to me. While it's important for music to have its own feeling, I love how artists can immerse you in the world of an album even before you hit play..

Few of the obvious benefits of good album art for artists are , marketing their work, brand image, merchandise etc Studies have shown that album covers can influence consumers' purchasing decisions. A compelling cover can entice someone to buy or stream an album, even if they are unfamiliar with the artist.

Apart from the obvious, musicians still have the freedom to express their music and themselves in an interestingly visual way. Rihanna can be one of the biggest pop stars in the world and her album cover can simply be her as a little girl with a crown over her eyes covered in braille poetry. I admire the notion of paying attention to what most don't, to think about the details that go beyond the ‘actual music making process’. Once you finish an album, after putting years of your life into a body of work , how do you decide on one picture that encapsulates that entire thing?

Growing up in a household where melodies from vinyl records filled the air, my fascination with album cover art was an early onset romance. One of my prized possessions has always been my father's vintage vinyl collection. As a designer, every time I hold a vinyl album in my hands, it’s like holding a visual echo of the music it encases. The thought of how a mere cover can encapsulate the essence of the musical odyssey inside led me to pen down this personal narrative.

The album cover serves as the first interaction between the artist and the listener, a silent but powerful communicator. For the artist, it’s a canvas where music takes a visual form, often becoming synonymous with the artist’s identity. In the market, a captivating cover is a magnet on the shelves or on digital platforms, pulling potential listeners into the musical journey the artist has crafted. In this digital age, despite the screen replacing the physical cover, the essence of visual allure remains unaltered. For the listener, it’s a prelude to the musical narrative, setting the mood, and often becoming a visual memory intertwined with the music.

The resurrection of vinyl sales in recent years and the nostalgic charm of cassettes underscore the enduring allure of album cover art. Every cover is a potential collector's item, a tangible manifestation of the music and the era it belongs to. It's mesmerizing how these covers, once the face of music in stores, have now become coveted art pieces, each telling a story far beyond the music it encases.

For many artists, the cover is an opportunity to visually convey themes, mood, or story of the album, enhancing the overall artistic message. It's a visual handshake between the artist and the listener, a prelude to the auditory experience. For example , one of the greatest albums of all time , To Pimp a Butterfly , the cover features a black-and-white photo featuring African-American boys and men celebrating in front of the White House with a judge at their feet. You can assume, you’re going to hear meaningful, deep and probably provocative music. With the songs in the album being around the theme of race, culture, and discrimination.

Frank Ocean's Blond where you see a man crying in a shower immediately giving the sense of "oh, I am about to get emotionally wrecked" .Another one of my absolute favourites,Pink floyd's ‘Burning Man’ art for the Wish You Were Here album which is an expression of Pink Floyd's disappointment and anger with the music industry. Which just so happens to be the theme of the songs in the album. Obviously the idea doesn't apply to every artist, for example Kanye's Donda just has a black square as the album cover or Beyonce,Beatles with just putting their name on a flat square.

Some album arts are so influential to the point they transcend the original intention of their creation and have become individual art pieces of their own. Iconic album covers become ingrained in the public consciousness, often representing more than just the music but a particular era or movement. A 2021 report by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) showed a 29% increase in vinyl sales, a testament to the tactile and visual allure of album covers in the digital age. More and more people want to have a tangible reminder of what a song means to them with vinyl being the most original and displayable product.

This isn't to say there aren't albums with great music but terrible artwork to go with it. The two artforms, as much as they are intertwined, they also are able to stand on their own, each evoking different emotions from their audience.

Personally, when I look at an album cover, it's not just the colours and design that strike me, but the narrative it weaves visually. In an age where book covers, movies and game posters are marketing gimmicks/whatever you want to add to sell, yet once you get into it - the content stands on its own, almost as if reclaiming its authenticity. Like a movie poster doesn't necessarily affect the movie watching experience yet but for albums the music on an album can make a cover better and the cover of an album can make the music feel better.

The best album covers feel like a doorway into a world. Once you've listened to the album, the memory of the artwork intrinsically moulds into the memory of the song, transporting you to the artist’s vision. Swipe on the album stack to see some album arts that capture the cultural and aesthetic essence of an era, making a mark on the industry and pop culture for the times to come.