Research - Analysing CD Album Covers

What is the purpose for album covers?


An album cover is the front of the packaging of a commercially-released audio recording product, or album. The term can refer to either the printed cardboard covers, or the front-facing panel of a CD package, and, increasingly, the primary image accompanying a digital download of the album, or of its individual tracks.

The cover serves three main purposes:

1. To advertise and identify the contents of the music product.
2. To convey the artistic aspirations of the original artists
3. In reproductions of the artwork, to serve as a primary image in the promotional efforts surrounding the product, as an identifiable image associated with it’  

EXAMPLES:

From looking at these particular examples of album covers it highlighted the different essence of how the artist is selling the actual CD. For example by looking at the artist Jay-z' Blueprint 3 captured a different approach, as the actual images sells the artist in a different way - the image itself is very capturing and artistic, which breaks the conventions of the genre of rap. This indicated by Jay-z being such a successful artist he did not need to have a image of his actual face for it to sell, as he is well established and has a high range of target audience which would regardless purchase the album.

This differs from the actual image which is on the cover of Kelly Rowland Here I AM  as this picture is a close up of the artist. I believe this was due not having a high volume of success which is why they need to sell the artist. This is what I took on board as my artist although very successful, she is still a fairly new artist which is why I have to sell the artist meaning use an image my actual actress in order to sell the artist.