An album cover today is the packaging of a recorded product by an artist. In today’s society is has become unclear what is more important, the importance of an album or the importance of the music? There are several different ways to listen to music, we can download music or we can buy the artists album. The question is why buy the download and why buy the album?
In the 1920s, record albums consisted of empty sleeves with a plain paperboard or leather cover, similar to a photograph album, by the late 1940s,some record albums consisted of bright and colourful paper covers and others had the decoration of classic art and original designs.
In each album today, the front cover of the CD package is designed with an image to represent the artist. Inside the packaging there is a digital download of the album. Long before the development of digital music, one of the most significant parts of music buying was indeed the album cover. People sometimes decide on whether the album cover grabs their attention, or whether it is creative and cool.
In the past, music was produced onto vinyl records. As time goes by, more is thought of in the artwork on these album covers and it is thought that many fans like to have the visual object in their hand. Records are of a limited nature today, their unique appearance is highly sought after by collectors and fans. Carrying and holding the object today seems to become more and more important as we view them as historic objects.
Raymond Williams is a man who came up with the Theory of Emergent. This theory is made up of three phases:
1. Emergent Phase. (People involved in a movement.)
2. Appropriation Phase. (Businesses’ take over emergent phase.)
3. Historicization Phase. (Historical Artefact.)
These are indeed the way the industry works today through the expression of socio economic times using both media and education.
Take Radiohead for example, the band decided to release a digital download “In Rainbows” that customers could order for whatever price they wished. They then decided not to release album cover for this digital release of the album so they held it back for the "discbox" release. This consists of the album, a book of lyrics, and additional Artwork. This is proof that still, in today’s society we are paying for the visual object and that yes, it is still very important.
I would like to end on the point that I think music is truly worthless if it can be digitised in today’s society. Inventions such as the ipod, I feel are taking its toll on the album cover world. The album cover which is nothing only an thumbnail and icon on an ipod. You cannot carry the object or view it in its finest detail. Peter Saville is an album cover designer at “New Order” and “Roxy Music”; he has suggested that the album cover was dead. This is what makes me ask the question, could album covers be a lost art? I think so!
