The Death of Covers?

[Simon R]

Front covers that is...

Hard-Fi, whose last sleeve won a top award, are making a statement about the death of album cover artwork with their latest release.

The cover of Once upon a Time in the West, due out in September, will contain only the title and the declaration "No Cover Art".



Frontman Richard Archer explained this was in response to the decreasing importance of the physical release because of downloads.

"The significance of album covers is becoming little more than a centimetre square on an iPod screen," he told The Times. "The sleeve used to add another dimension to an album, but that seems to be disappearing, which is really sad."

He said it was the only way to go after winning a national plaudit for Stars of CCTV's simple camera motif.

"An album is like a book, and the book cover is an important detail. We had the Sleeve of the Year in 2005 and we looked at every way of trying to top it. But perhaps the best way is to kill off the sleeve altogether."

Hmmm, a fair point or too clever by far and post-modernism gone mad? Surely you still want an album cover on a website to make the (potential) download noticeable and to advertise in magazines etc?

Surely the yellow cover with text is a cover albeit an unconvential one? Why not just release the CD in a case without a booklet if they really don't want a cover?

Whatever next?

[Pip Madeley]

Whatever the reasons behind it, I think it's a laugh, makes a change.

[Jim]

You can have a stylish iconic album cover without being pretentious - which the above looks to me. I think we should hang on the the album/single sleeve, picking it off the shelf is the buzz and they can hold their own nostalgic/fun factor. Loosing it is the sort of thing that turns me off buying music on line.

[SiHart]

Didn't The Beatles do that first in 1968 with The White Album?

Si xx

[Si Hunt]

I think it's pretentious and selfish towards fans - this isn't 2050, and many, many people will still buy this on CD and have to put up with looking at the monstrosity of a box whenever they get the disc out. Perhaps the fans ought to refrain from buying this, and spend their money on something that leaps out at them more from the record store shelf or browser window.

Si.

[Rob McCow]

Perhaps the fans have heard the new single and like it a lot.

I'll probably be buying this album when it comes out, on a lovely CD. I'll then rip the CD and mostly listen to it on the computer. So more fool me.

[P-Bal]

P-Bal's album shall have stunning album art.

It'll be better than the disc within.