History of CD covers

Before starting to plan our Cd cover i thought it would be better to research on the history of CD covers as i would get a better understanding of them.


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 typically used to package sets of 10" and 12" 78 rpm records, single and sets of 12" LPs, sets of 45 rpm records (either in several connected sleeves or a box), 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 3 main purposes:
To advertise the contents of the music product.
To convey the artistic aspirations of the original artists (see Cover art and Alex Steinweiss).
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.
Also, in the case of all types of records, it also serves as part of the protective sleeve.

The cover became an important part of the culture of music at the time. As a marketing tool and an expression of artistic intent, gatefold covers, (a folded double cover), and inserts, often with lyric sheets, made the album cover a desirable artifact in its own right. Notable examples are The Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band which had cut-out inserts, lyrics, a gatefold sleeve though a single album; and Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon which had gatefold, lyrics, no title on the sleeve and poster inserts.
The importance of cover design was such that some artists specialised or gained fame through their work, notably the design team Hipgnosis (through their work on Pink Floyd albums amongst others) and Roger Dean famous for his Yes and Greenslade covers, Cal Schenkel for Captain Beefheart's Trout Mask Replica and Frank Zappa's We're Only in It For the Money.
The talents of many photographers and illustrators from both inside and outside of the music industry have been used to produce a vast array of memorable LP/CD covers.

Album covers were primarily made from cardboard, and as such, were prone to either peeling at the edges and accumulating general damage through continual use. Because LP's inside these alum covers were also prone to damage and scratching, inserts were developed to slip over them. These were usually made from paper, and slipped inside the main Album Sleeve.
The information displayed on these sleeves was usually the band name, album title, band members and other related information, as well as the recording studio and/or recording studio. There may also be information to advertise the band, along side the album artwork.
As time went on audio tapes were used along-side Vinyl LP's and singles. The LP's demise came along around the 90's when CD's came along - which were smaller and more robust. Now, in 2008, compact disc albums still use imagery and designs to advertise the bands. Tapes are still being used, but only on a very limited scale – at least in the western world, because many old cars use tape cassette players.

A CD Cover has become a representation of the bands' music. Even though 80% of music is now bought online, the accompanying CD artwork is still being used - as is still likely to continue into the future.

The people that would buy mainly singles started buying albums and the art work on the covers of these was as intricate as the music sometimes. For example, when we sold the Beatles 1965 album it does not have a name on it; it doesn't have a title or anything. It's just has picture of the four Beatles and they have slightly longer hair and these brown suede jackets and that kind of signaled the kind of culture blooming at that time. People started moving forward with the album art and the Beatles' "Sergeant Pepper and the Lonely Hearts Club Band" was a statement at the time. The kind of photo montage of pictures that they had going there started somewhat of a trend. People really started embracing the album art and making that package simply more than just a picture; it really became a presentation to go along with the sound that you were hearing. And many bands all over the world, in the US and in Europe especially, would really take great care with their album art.For the Beatles specifically it was Peter Blake who did the photo and staged it. With a couple of associates like photographer Michael Cooper, he actually took the picture and then [included] some wax figures by Madame Tussauds of the Beatles themselves. They would kind of play with that and kind of suggest things and that cover came about that way. Peter Blake was an English artist. Then they would get friends, San Francisco artists, to do their album art and their first few records were entirely psychedelic with all sorts of figures and swirling colors and all that.

http://www.essortment.com/articles/album-cover-history_5838.htm
www.music-cd-cover.com/Brief%20History%20of%20CD%20Cover%20Sleeves.html -
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Album_cover