Whether through minimalist designs, intricate artwork, or striking photography, album covers remain an essential tool for helping listeners connect visually with the music.
By Hope Ibiale
What attracts a music fan to an album? Is it just the artiste’s established musical excellence, the fan’s commitment to their art, the scintillating music videos, or even the fear of missing out? While these factors can draw listeners in, before they engage their ears, it’s their sense of sight that often first influences their decision to explore the project.
This is where an album cover comes in. An album cover acts as the visual bait, sparking curiosity, conveying mood, and often hinting at the sonic journey that lies within. It’s the first connection between the artiste and the audience, a powerful image that can evoke emotions, tell a story, or create an instant connection, compelling listeners to press play and explore the sounds that accompany it.
Just as a book cover might entice a reader with its design, an album cover can similarly draw listeners into an album. Just as a book’s synopsis gives readers a glimpse of what to expect, an album cover offers a visual summary of the themes or mood of the music. A notable example is Show Dem Camp’s 2019 release, Clone Wars Vol. IV: These Buhari Times album cover, which features two men playing draughts, surrounded by their supporters.
The supporters on either side symbolise the “lazy youths” and a group of government officials. Other elements in the cover art, such as the umbrella and broom—representing the two major political parties in Nigeria—further illustrate how these parties continuously rotate power among themselves. The album cover also depicts the never-ending struggle between Nigerians and the government. It is a symbolic representation of the country’s reality and it shows listeners what type of songs to expect.
Omah Lay’s 2022 Boy Alone album cover is another symbolic cover that illustrates both the title of the album and the project’s overall theme. On the cover, the “Soso” crooner is photographed alone on a purple background. The visual immediately hits you with the theme of loneliness explored in the album. Whether through minimalist designs, intricate artwork, or striking photography, album covers remain an essential tool for listeners to connect visually with the music.
Another remarkable African album cover is the artwork for Mike Kayihura’s 2019 EP, Zuba. On the cover, Kayihura’s face and a microphone is expertly illustrated with the tape from a cassette. Through the cover art, anyone familiar with Kayihura’s music will automatically know it is a music project from him.
In essence, an album cover serves as a portrait of an artiste’s vision, offering the first glimpse into their mind. It encapsulates the theme of the songs and sometimes even defines an era, a movement, or a generation. The elements that make good music memorable don’t solely rely on pristine production, outstanding collaborations, stellar track arrangements, and the artist’s delivery. A key factor that also impacts the music and forges a deeper connection with listeners is the album cover.
Over the years, countless album covers spanning different genres and eras have been created. Some album covers have become as legendary as the music itself, transcending their role as mere packaging to become works of art in their own right. For instance, Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s album covers like Beast of No Nation (1989) and Zombie (1977) designed by Lemi Ghariokwu, have become revered art pieces due to their powerful commentary on socio-political issues like corruption and military brutality.
Falz’s album cover for Moral Instruction released in 2019 is another example of Ghariokwu’s skill at capturing music on album covers. Falz tackled a variety of topics throughout the album, including terrorism, police brutality, corruption, and many more, all of which were translated on the cover, which made these themes evident and prepared listeners for what they were about to hear.
In recent times, Mr. Eazi’s 2023 The Evil Genius cover is one of the few covers that can pass for an art piece because of the use of colours. Alongside the artsy album cover, the musician also unveiled art pieces created specifically for each record on the album. This intentionality shows that he understands that creating an album cover is as important as carefully crafting the music.
South African jazz musician Nduduzo Makhathini’s 2022 album, In The Spirit of Ntu, is another example of an album cover that resembles an art piece, thanks to the prominent sculpture on it. The sculpture represents the combination of the artistic, spiritual, and cultural themes Makhathini explored in the album. Lyna Mahyem’s 2022 album, Authentic, also features a cover that could easily be showcased in a museum, thanks to its wax sculpture design, which symbolises the various personas the French-Algerian artiste embodies throughout the album.
All these album covers portray that album covers are more than just mere designs; they tell a story, and in today’s era, the purpose of an album cover to tell a story hasn’t changed despite the arrival of digital streaming platforms. Album covers are still powerful.
Before the digital music streaming era, music enthusiasts would purchase vinyl and CDs not just for the music but also to admire the album cover. It was common for visitors to be entertained by simply exploring someone’s vinyl collection and getting a sense of the person’s music taste by just glancing at the covers.
With the rise of digital streaming platforms, the tradition of buying vinyl to appreciate cover art has evolved. Now, songs play on a loop without listeners frequently engaging with the cover art. Yet, despite this shift, the power of a well-designed album cover remains strong. These covers continue to reflect the essence of the music, the artiste, their culture, and their history, maintaining their role as a vital part of the musical experience.
Creative director, Michael Tommy, agrees that album covers have become more significant in the digital streaming era. He comments, “In the current trend, I think cover arts have become more significant because sometimes they get to be the reason why someone would decide to listen to the music. Album covers are still significant if not more significant than they used to be. You can get notifications about new music from different platforms and when you see an attractive cover that shows that the artiste cares about their art, it can encourage you to listen to the music”.
An example of an album cover that likely inspired listeners to explore the music is Dunsin Oyekan’s The Glory Experience, designed by Michael Tommy. Released in 2022, the cover art vividly captures a heartfelt moment of worship and an experience of God’s presence.
Most of the world’s popular brands are easily identifiable when displayed in malls, but when their packaging is removed, it becomes difficult to discern which brand owns the product or what’s inside. This would naturally affect the brand’s sales. The same principle applies to an artiste releasing an album without cover art—music is a product, too. Without that visual identity, the connection between the audience and the music is weakened, potentially impacting its reach and success.
Listeners need to recognise an artiste’s music before engaging with what they have to offer. And what better way to achieve this than with a distinctive album cover that promises a unique experience? The moment listeners see the cover art, they’re informed about the artiste’s new project, and it often plays a key role in determining whether they’ll dive into the album or skip it entirely. The cover art is a visual cue that not only signals the arrival of new music but also sets the tone for what’s to come.
Aside from influencing the listener’s reception, album covers also impact an artiste’s brand. Most of the album covers that have been released in the past few years have shown that artistes are intentional about their brand, and their brand doesn’t stay stagnant; it changes over time. Every artiste is trying to build a memorable brand that’s why each album cover shows a new narrative.
On Blaqbonez’s Young Preacher album which was released in 2022, he is photographed holding a book while two women sit beside him. One is captivated by his knowledge, while the other stares at him. From the cover, his brand position at the time was obvious: he was knowledgeable about different things.
This year, Tems released her debut album, Born in the Wild, and the cover art sees her staring boldly at the camera in contrast to her last EPs, which captured her turning her face from the camera. One thing is depicted on her most recent album cover: assertiveness. This hints at a new positioning of her brand. It presents her brand as fearless, and listeners might get a fresh, self-assured impression of Tems.
Album covers are also a fundamental part of album rollouts. When an artiste announces the release of a new project what usually follows are music videos, behind-the-scenes content, the release of lead singles, trailers, the album’s tracklist, and most importantly, the album cover. Recently, Nigerian artiste, Fireboy DML, announced the release of his fourth studio album, Adedamola. The simple black canvas with the artiste in the middle of the cover already makes a strong statement that the album might be centred on the artiste’s life experiences.
By revealing the album cover, he has given the assumption that the depiction of his life experiences will be the ultimate concept behind the album, thereby heightening the listener’s expectations of the album. His decision to reveal the cover art is a perfect explanation of the significance of an album cover; it is a canvas on which an artiste tells a story, a tool that the artiste uses to introduce the music to listeners.
The significance of an album cover can’t be overstated as it makes an artiste’s work stand out in a saturated market. New albums are released every day, and it can be quite difficult for an artiste’s project to stand out. Thus, this is where album covers come in to boost the visibility of a project.
A distinctive and well-crafted album cover can transform casual music browsers into devoted listeners and open additional revenue streams for artistes. An appealing cover can lead listeners to seek physical copies of the album, such as vinyl records and CDs. Moreover, T-shirts, posters, and other collectibles featuring iconic album covers provide fans with tangible ways to connect with the artist’s visual identity and musical brand.
However, to tap into the perks attached to an album cover, artistes need to understand that these benefits are hinged on the quality of the cover art. It should be clear that a good album cover doesn’t mean good music or determine the success of the album, neither does a bad album cover mean the music will be automatically bad, but an eye-catching cover art might motivate listeners to listen to the album irrespective of the quality of the music while a bad cover art might discourage listeners from listening to the album even if the music is good.
They say not to judge a book by its cover, but with albums, sometimes you can. The album cover often gives listeners a glimpse into the quality of artistry they are about to experience. If an artist doesn’t invest in the cover or its associated elements, it may reflect a lack of dedication to the quality of the music itself. Poor album covers usually result from a mix of budget constraints, rushed production, miscommunication, and a lack of structure.
Creating a high-quality album cover can be expensive, especially if it involves hiring professional photographers, graphic designers, or illustrators. The music industry is generally expensive; the cost of shooting music videos, paying music producers, and many other factors might take the majority of the budget, thereby leaving a small cut for the cover art, which in turn affects the quality of the album cover.
An established artiste might not be bothered about the budget of an album cover, but emerging artistes may not have access to a large budget. But they can find art directors or graphic designers within their budget who can deliver quality work.
The lack of structure in an artiste’s team also plays a role in determining the quality of the album covers. Artistes are busy touring and creating music, so they can’t be in charge of executing covers; they need someone they can delegate this responsibility to, which is where creative directors come in. It is the job of a creative director to listen to the music, start the creation process, and involve the artiste. They are the individuals who identify the right photographers, visual artists, or illustrators to employ for every project.
As the multidisciplinary creative, Adeniyi Okeowo, posits, “If I was to point fingers, I wouldn’t point fingers at the artistes because their job is to make music and perform. I would point fingers at who is handling the artiste’s visual arm of their career. When it comes to artistes and their teams in the Nigerian music industry, I don’t think they are well structured”.
The disconnect between the creative director and the artiste can lead to last-minute productions, directly affecting the alignment of the album cover with the music. Ultimately, an album cover is far more than just a decorative element; it’s a crucial component of the music creation process that bridges the gap between an artiste’s vision and the listener’s perception.
Serving as the first point of contact, a compelling album cover, while potentially complex and costly to create, is an investment that enhances an artiste’s brand, intrigues potential listeners, and leaves a lasting impression.
In an era where music is more accessible than ever, the significance of a well-crafted album cover remains as crucial as the music itself. It is a reflection of the artiste’s dedication to their craft, an invitation to explore the music they’ve created, and a powerful tool for standing out in a crowded industry.
Hope Ibiale is a writer and journalist. She has a keen interest in music, film, and literature. You can connect with Hope on X @hopeibiale and via email: hopeibiale@afrocritik.com.