Who designs album art?

Question

I was wondering who would design the album cover. Could it be a job?
Also, what size would it be in pixels

Answer 1

Usually it's an artist....some artists specialize in album cover art, and some album covers are done by artists who work in other mediums, and sometimes the msuician just picks an image that they like. Your best bet is to study print art or painting or photography or all of the above if that's what you want to do.

Answer 2

Way back in the olden days, when albums were made of vinyl and the covers were13" by 13", there were album design departments at all the major record labels, as well as independant design companies (HIPGNOSIS was the most famous one, they've done all the Pink Floyd covers since 1970 as well as dozens of other artists); also, some individual artists like Roger Dean who made their fame & fortune doing album cover paintings (as part of a total package in presenting the band YES, Dean also designed insert booklets, concert stages and PA systems, T-shirts and posters, and made animated films to be projected during the concerts). Oftentimes a band's album covers would all be created by the same artist, and remain consistant throughout their career (Iron Maiden, Boston, Blue Oyster Cult, Molly Hatchet etc. all had continuous album-cover art). One of the perks for successful artists was being given approval over their cover art (which most artists did NOT have, Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones started their own record labels in part because they were sick of hassling with the label over their cover art). Some artists did their own covers themselves (R.E.M. and Joni Mitchell were among those), others would make suggestions and hope for the best.
Since the end of vinyl, album packaging has become another area in which the record companies have taken control back from the artist; given that the area available for art has been limeted to a 5" by 5" square, the labels try to ensure maximum impact using that area by integrating the cover art with the advertising and in-store displays, all of which are strictly controlled by the retailer (if your sign won't fit in a Wal-Mart, you're in trouble). Luckily, the Internet revolution has made some of this thinking obsolete, but for now, most jobs in album-cover design are done in-house by the Advertising & Promotions departments at the large record labels (exactly the way it was done in the 50's, before "art" became an issue in the first place).

Answer 3

it's 1440 by 1440 pixels, and yeah it can be a job, quite often a well paid one. some artists specialise in album art.

Answer 4

I do!