Vinyl Packaging: Pet Shop Boys- Yes (Limited Edition)
Yes is the tenth studio album by British electronic dance music band Pet Shop Boys. This limited-edition vinyl packaging is collaboration between Mark Farrow and the Pet Shop Boys, and produced by The Vinyl Factory. It contains eleven tracks split over eleven separate super-heavyweight 200-gram custom vinyl pressing records in LA with covers made up […]
CD Artwork: The Freshness Factor of 3-D Typography
Bored of seeing the same fonts in album covers? Here are some album artwork with type/letters that are constructed, sculpted, and molded. Alright, I am not a graphic designer so I really cannot tell if some of them are purely manipulated using design software but they surely look like they’re being constructed by hand. 3-D […]
4 Musts of CD Packaging
As they say, music alone will not sell. CD Packaging design is one of the reasons why the hard format is still alive. When everyone is going digital, it is wise to offer fans something that cannot be downloaded. Do not just give them forgettable album artwork – give them something that’s so awesome that […]
Effective Music Marketing Strategies To Get Your Music Noticed
In some music business schools, they still give students assignments that go like this: “Assume that you have one million dollars. Make up a marketing plan on how to promote a band.” Here’s a realistic assignment: “Go to MySpace. Pick a band. You have zero dollars. Now go promote them.” Although most bands would like […]
Vinyl Packaging: Proof that Artwork Affects Album Sales
Sales of custom vinyl records increased by 14 percent over the previous year, with around 2.8 million units sold. This is a new record for vinyl sales since 1991, when the format had all but disappeared in the wake of the CD boom, according to a report released yesterday by Nielsen SoundScan. Unsurprisingly, the artists […]
Recording, Releasing, and Performing Cover Songs
Here is a comprehensive article about cover songs written by Cameron Mizell. Cameron is a freelance guitarist, producer, and consultant in Brooklyn, NY. You can check out his articles at musicianwages.com. ——————————————————————————– Cover songs have an interesting place in the musician lexicon. The term cover song originated in the early part of the recording era, […]
Why You Should Still Make CDs When No One Pays For Music Anymore
They say it’s foolish for new acts to make CDs because no one wants to pay for music anymore. They say CD sales are down and it will never go up again especially now that any song is just a click away. They say that we should just give free music online and get money […]
Indie Musicians: Hey, It’s OK to Make Money
Creative artists, more than any other personality type, have a strong orientation towards authenticity. They can smell trickery and b.s. from a mile away. Ask them to write out a list of their least favorite people in the world and you’ll likely find politicians, and people who’ve achieved outward success through slimy tactics. One group […]
10 Websites Every DIY Musician Needs to Know
The playing field is now leveled. We all have access to the same online tools, the same websites, and preach the same message, ‘Hey! Come check out our band.’ So how is your band going to be effective on the web when everyone is given the same vantage point? How are you to know which […]
CD Packaging: 12 Brilliant Typographic Album Art
Here are 12 albums that use type (letters) as the album art. No glossy portraits, no bling-bling, just letters made into artwork. Brilliant! Zipper Catches Skin by Alice Cooper What you get here is just the lyrics from the album presented in block paragraph form on the cover. There is also the very subtle ALICE […]