While some album covers are carefully conceptualized and carried out, others are created using stock photos,graphicsor even AI. Either way, certain images just work well asalbum covers, providing the perfect “hook” that draws listeners to to the music beneath the packaging.
As the name implies, Facebook pageImages That Could Be Album Coversis a gorgeous gallery of pictures that would make amazing marketing material for music. From candid shots, to creative, bizarre, messy, intriguing or downright daring, the page showcases an array of visual art that hasn’t (yet) made it onto the cover of a music album, but totally could.Bored Pandahas picked our favorites and compiled the following list for your scrolling pleasure.
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In some cases, a cover can be sobad, it unintentionally forces someone to skip right past it. Or it could be so brilliant that it entices someone to pick up a book that they might not have ordinarily. The same rings true for a music album cover.
“Album art serves as a visual representation of the music contained within. It provides listeners with an initial glimpse into the style, mood and atmosphere of the music,“notesinternational design promotion organization Good Design Australia. “A well-designed cover can effectively convey the essence of the artist’s vision and create a strong connection between the music and the audience.”
Before the release of theNevermindalbum, Nirvana was an unknown band to millions of people. And while there’s no doubt it was their unique, non-conforming, grunge rock sounds that shot the band to superstardom, many experts agree that the album cover played a part in their instant success.
Robert Fisher is the man behind the design of the cover. “I remember the first time I saw it with all the type on it and everything … it was perfect. I was so happy with it,” hesaid. “When I showed the final cover for the first time to the band and management, they loved it and didn’t have a single change. Nirvana was such a great band and the two together just made magic I guess.”
“The anniversary means something to me. It’s strange that I did this for five minutes when I was 4 months old and it became this really iconic image,” Spencer Eldentoldthe New York Post.
As an adult, he believes he wasn’t fairly compensated for his part in the raging success of the album, and he believes his rights were violated when he was photographed nude at the age of 4 months.
The album cover made headlines decades after the original shoot, when Elden took his grievance to court. He sued Nirvana and record label Universal Music Group in 2021, accusing them of exploiting him and causing him continuing personal harm. A district judge dismissed the case because Elden didn’t sue within a 10-year limitations period after learning of the cover.
In December 2023, a unanimous panelreversedthat ruling. “The appeals court said that Elden could still sue based on Nirvana’s republication of the cover more recently, including in a rereleased version of Nevermind from 2021,“reportedthe Guardian at the time.
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