A record jacket or music jacketed in visual art

Abstract

A record cover can be described and analyzed, to some extent independently, on three levels: as an item of packaging, a source of information and an object of artistic value. The presented order reflects the way its perception has been evolving over time. Without losing its practical function, an album cover has become the subject of aesthetic appraisal. We take a closer look at the role of a cover design in gaining brand recognition by a record company on the phonographic market. To this end, record labels can use an outstanding logo (Deutsche Grammophon), a characteristic pattern (For Tune) or a general decorative concept (Blue Note). Releasing series of records devoted to individual players/composers, musical styles or forms in uniformly designed covers is yet another way of establishing and promoting a label. Another important issue discussed here is the correspondence between music and the record covers accompanying it. Intuition would suggest some sort of affinity between the two or a record cover being a complementary addition to the musical content. In many cases, however, any such connections are hard to find. What we will see more often is a random nature of a body of music and a record cover juxtaposition.