Best Album Cover Designers

What a good cover art package includes

Cover art gigs are usually priced per release. Check that the package states:

• Square cover at the size your distributor requires.
• Concepts and revisions.
• Typography: artist name and title.
• Image sources: your photos, licensed images or original art.
• Extras: social media sizes, animated covers, merch versions.
• Rights for release, promotion and merchandise.

View the draft at thumbnail size on a phone, next to other releases in your genre. Details and thin text disappear when small. A cover that is recognizable as a tiny square works better in playlists and search results.

How to brief a cover designer

1. The music: a link to the track or demo.
2. Mood and themes of the release.
3. Artist name and title, spelled exactly.
4. Photos of you, if they should be used.
5. References: covers you like, in and outside your genre.
6. Series: whether the cover should match past or future releases.

Read your distributor's artwork rules and share them with the designer. Rules differ, and a rejected cover can delay a planned release date.

Plan the whole release campaign with the designer, not just the cover. A consistent look across the cover, social posts, pre-save links and a short animated version makes the release feel bigger and more professional, and ordering them together is usually cheaper than adding them later.

What drives the price

• photo-based design versus original illustration
• number of concepts and revisions
• custom typography or logo
• social media and animated versions
• merch-ready files
• the designer's experience in your genre

If the cover uses a photo of you, invest in the shoot. A strong photo taken for the release, with lighting and styling that match the music, gives the designer far more to work with than a casual snapshot. It is also useful for press kits and profile pictures on streaming platforms.

Red flags

• Images with no license information.
• Premade covers sold as exclusive when they may be resold.
• Files below your distributor's size requirements.
• Text or elements that break platform rules.
• No rights statement for merchandise use.

If you release regularly, ask for a consistent style across covers: similar fonts, framing or color treatment. Listeners who see a new cover that clearly belongs to your catalog are more likely to recognize and play it. A template or style note from the designer makes future covers faster and cheaper.

For the music itself, see our music producer guide and mixing and mastering guide. For a music video, read our music video guide.

Quick pre-order checklist

• I know my distributor's size and artwork rules.
• All images are mine, licensed or original.
• I have checked the cover at thumbnail size.
• I will get social media versions if I need them.
• Rights cover release, promotion and merch.