In the days of albums and even CDs, cover art was an attracting feature for those looking to purchase the record. Not only would it contain information about the contents, but it was also very visually appealing, and this helped sales. However, as the digital age has crept upon us, it brings with it questions regarding the necessity for cover art. So, is cover art still important in the music business?
There are, of course, those that will argue that cover art work is a thing of the past and that it has no place in the music industry of today. These people will say that it is all just a formality now, with not much time or thought spent on the actual artwork. For instance, many digital providers, such as Spotify and Apple Music, require that artists upload some sort of artwork so that there is something to display when users search for that artist. However, many musicians will upload personal photos and other images that really have nothing to do with the album itself.
On the other hand, there are many within the industry that will argue that there has never been a more important time for cover art, and there are a variety of reasons for this. First off, with the emergence of the internet and social media comes the ability to share pictures on an unforeseen level. People share everything from pictures of what they are eating for dinner to photos of their pets, and album cover art must compete with these images. Not to mention, there is still the necessity to compete with the artwork of other musicians.
Make it Eye-Catching
To stand out among the plethora of images being transmitted around the internet the cover art must stand out. Most people are only going to glimpse at an image for a second or two and then they will move on to the next picture without much thought. If you can create an image that is captivating, it may force the user to stay on the page or platform longer because of the intrigue brought on by the image. This can be all that is needed to get that viewer to check the origin of the photo, which can lead them to the album itself.
These same fundamentals apply when you are creating album art that will be viewed specifically within digital media outlets. Remember that you will be competing with other musicians and having cover art that is more appealing than that of the other artists can bode well for you as a musician, especially if those artists are in the same genre. Just think about it, if you were searching for “rap music” on Spotify and you were not aiming for anything in particular then you may be susceptible to being swayed by some appealing cover art, rather than artwork that is bland, regardless of whether you are familiar with the artist or not.
Play on Emotions
Emotions are an integral part of music and this is especially true with fans. The reason a fan likes a certain type of music is usually because they feel some type of emotional attachment to the messages being sent through the soundwaves. This is not different with album art. By creating artwork for an album that taps into the mindset of the listener, they will be more likely to form emotional ties with that piece. In fact, on websites like iTunes the album artwork is prominent when searching through an artist’s collection, and this can induce users to click on these albums.
Make the Cover Art Sharable
Social media plays a huge role in the world today, as it does in the music industry as well. Based on this fact, musicians need to come up with cover art that can be shared across many different platforms. For instance, if a listener enjoys a particular piece of album art, they may log into their Pinterest account and share the album cover with friends. The same could be said with platforms like Twitter and Facebook. When these posts are shared amongst friends there becomes the real chance that the share level will go beyond a small group and it could eventually get shared with thousands of other users. There is no doubt that some of the recipients will be intrigued enough to check out the origin of the artwork, and this could generate sales.
With Photoshop Cover Art is a Must
A while back, before the digital age, creating album cover artwork took a considerable amount of time, often requiring special artists and designers with the ability to create unique images. However, as photo editing software, such as Photoshop, has risen in popularity, the ability to create stunning cover art has been greatly simplified. Now artists have the ability to have stunning designs created for a relatively small amount of money, and in fact, with practice, artists could design the cover themselves. Failing that there are also outsourcers on platforms such as fiver or free aps like Canva that can help you get the job done.