Album Cover Design & Cover Artwork
An album cover has two lives. One in the record shop, 12 inches square, with sleeve, inner sleeve, vinyl centre label and a tactility you can hold. And one on streaming, 3000 pixels square, ending up as a postage stamp on a phone and still having to read as a 60-pixel Spotify tile. Cover design, for us, means thinking through both lives at once, from the start, so neither ruins the other.
Where cover design wins
First listening contact happens on platforms that sort by image. Covers matter more in discovery than any press release. Going out with an out-of-focus photo and a wordmark in the middle is an application for a skip before anyone hears the track. Cover design is not the cherry on top, it is the door to the stream.
The physical cover has a different job. A 12-inch sleeve sits in a hand, gets turned, opened, the inner sleeve pulled out, the vinyl spins. Material matters here, varnish, uncoated paper print, an inner sleeve that talks back to the cover. Sending only a JPG to the distributor leaves the vinyl experience untouched. Designing only the vinyl loses the streaming side. We build both from one concept base.
What the project delivers
A typical cover project delivers the front artwork as a 3000 px master in sRGB for every streaming service, a CMYK PDF with bleed for vinyl or CD pressing, separated files for vinyl centre labels and inner sleeve, a Spotify Canvas (1080×1920 px, 3 to 8 seconds), templates for Bandcamp and Apple Music, and a short set of social cuts for the release push. Album projects add booklet, tracklist layout and, where relevant, gatefold inside. We develop the cover in close coordination with the artist identity, so it does not fall out of the system.
For photo-driven covers we set the treatment for the shoot and work with photographers from our network. For illustrative or typographic covers we design the artwork in-house. In both cases we hand over a package that distributor and press plant can process without follow-up questions. Anyone who knows the technical requirements and has designed covers knows: this is not a given, it is the difference between a calm and a chaotic release week.
Pricing and timing
A single cover with DSP master and Spotify Canvas lands between €800 and €2,200. A full album cover with vinyl, inner sleeve, booklet and all DSP applications moves between €2,500 and €7,500. Timelines run from 2 weeks (single, clear concept) to 8 weeks (album with shoot and vinyl pressing). We keep at least 10 days of buffer before the release date for file mastering and print coordination.
From 60-pixel tile to 12-inch sleeve
We design so the composition works instantly as a Spotify thumbnail and still has depth on the inner sleeve of a 12-inch record. Both from one file, not two.
Concept from the music, not from the trend feed
We listen to the record, read the lyrics, talk to the act about references and rejections. From that comes a visual concept that ages with the music, not against it.
Print and DSP ready
The master ships with a 3000 px square for streaming, CMYK PDF for print, separated layers for vinyl labels and inner sleeve, and a Canvas file for Spotify. Everything named, everything organised, everything ready to upload.
A picture series across singles, EP and album
We do not think of covers as one-offs but as a picture series. Single 1, single 2 and the album have to stand together in the Spotify discography without looking like a stock photo compilation.
Frequently asked
A single cover with master for DSPs and a Spotify Canvas lands between €800 and €2,200. A full album artwork with front, back, inner sleeve, vinyl labels and CD booklet moves between €2,500 and €7,500, depending on photo production, illustration and the number of printed parts.
A single cover takes 2 to 4 weeks, an album cover typically 4 to 8 weeks, because the picture concept, photo shoot or illustration and the mechanical print prep for vinyl all need their own time. We keep at least 10 days of buffer before the release date for printing and file mastering.
Yes. You get a 3000 px master in sRGB for Spotify, Apple Music, Bandcamp and Distrokid, a CMYK PDF with bleed for pressing, separated files for vinyl centre labels and inner sleeve, plus the Spotify Canvas. Anyone who has not yet chosen a distributor gets a recommendation.
Yes. We often work with photographers, set the treatment and mood, and direct the shoot so the material works on the cover, in the booklet and on press photos at once. If you already have photos, they can be brought in, provided the rights and resolution are right.
Yes. Briefings, review calls and proofs run fully remote. On-site visits for shoots or vinyl pressing are scheduled separately and possible across Germany.
Start a project?
Tell me briefly what it is about — in a 30-minute first conversation we clarify whether and how we can work together.