Album covers

Task 1: Album covers.

What are album covers? 

Album covers are one of the main reasons in why audiences are attracted the buying a album. Album covers are the front packaging of a commercially realised audio recording products. Since the mid-1990s, the CD has become the most popular type of physically distributed music products. Packaging formats vary, including the very common plastic jewel-case, and the popular cardboard and plastic combination commonly known as a Digi-pak. The cover of the album became a important part of music culture.The album cover is a component of the overall packaging of an album. Especially in the case of vinyl records with cardboard sleeves.

What are the features of album covers?

The typical album cover would usually feature the artist or band along with the name of themselves, but this changed quickly as album covers became a form of promoting and getting the artists recognised through the covers. The album covers then became more controversial and it got to the point in which album covers were getting banned such as 'Jesus piece' - The Game, For its religious references, also Guns and roses 'Appetite for Destruction' for its sexual reference. Albums don't have a set list of features that have to be used, they vary from a blank canvas to a unexplainable picture. 

What is the history of Album Covers?

Before 1938 album covers were no more than writing on a brown envelope, this was until columbia records hired Alex Steinweiss as its first art director. He is credited with inventing the concept of album covers and cover art, replacing plain covers used before. After his initial efforts at Columbia, other record companies followed his lead. By the late 1940s, record albums for all the major companies featured their own colorful paper covers in both 10" and 12" sizes.

Task 2.

This is my favourite album cover - Take to the Skies is the debut album by British post-hardcore band Enter Shikari. On March 25, 2007, it reached #4 in the Official UK Album Chart selling 28,000 copies in its first week

The album cover does not have any obvious meaning to the band or album name, it is just a creative peice of art which is to promote the bands image of being different. the cover is in brown and black which is not stand out whatsoever, this idicates the band dont need to stand out and believe they can sell the album without having to try as hard as others. The image on the cover is of a tribal sense and this links with some of the songs on the album. I believe that the album cover has no real meaning it just wants to reflect some of the songs meanings.