As one of
the vinyl generation brought up on a diet 7” and 12” records I never thought
the day would come where my stylus would no longer work those grooves. But in the early 80’s the Compact Disc
emerged claiming superior sound quality, a more compact size and increased
durability. The vinyl junkies pledged their eternal allegiance to the pvc
discs, shouting from the rooftops that CD’s would never take off. It did and the audio evolution
continued. The CD offered a cheaper and
easier way to produce and distribute audio and soon even the vinyl die-hards
couldn’t resist. Looking back, the
transition from vinyl to CD was not as sensational as it seemed at the time, as
the vinyl sat sulking on the top shelf gathering dust. It may have felt like I was throwing away my
youth and replacing it with a more efficient but less emotive substitute. But
all things considered it was still a packaged disc of some sort.
The next
evolution is upon us and this time it’s more extreme – the physical disc is
being replaced by digital files. I can download music legally from online stores such as Bleep, emusic, Napster, iTunes, HMV, Wippit etc directly to my storage device. This requires a complete shift in my mindset.
The music that I once held, touched and even caressed is now a load of
binary digits.
So why the
mindset change? Your ears are the privileged
recipients of the aural pleasures but to say that your other senses are
deprived of these pleasures does the packaging and artwork a disservice. To many of us the CD packaging is an
essential part of the total experience. If the masses didn’t demand sleeve
design then music companies could reduce their production costs significantly
by distributing the CD’s in clear plastic sleeves.
The recording
package is a reflection of the drama, the genre and the artist. Consider how
the black and white checkered design (see the Specials album covers) became the
trademark for Ska. These often inspirational artforms captured the futurism of
electronica, the defiance of punk, the authenticy of Blues etc For decades the artists have pushed the
boundaries and the record cover is no longer performing a functional duty but is
another slice of art that sit’s hand in hand with the audio pleasures.
In the 70’s
the album cover became an artform.
Designers experimented with design styles, materials (cardboard, plastic
and even cement); there were gatefold, foldouts, booklets. The record sleeve was a blank canvas for
artists to experiment. I have fond memories of many packages: -
the interactive spinning cover of Spectrum, the bizarre fold-out poster that
accompanied Aphex Twin's ‘Selected Ambient Works’, Volume 2, or ‘On the Blink’
by Wauvenfold where you press a lever to eject the CD...
The
challenge for the music industry is to get me onboard the download generation. To achieve this they need to create a digital
equivalent to the tangible record/ CD sleeve.
So in 2006
it’s time for the album cover to evolve. Don’t insult me by offering a digital
reproduction of the record or CD sleeve design.
With a medium that offers such rich interactivity and endless
opportunities to innovate how can the music industry be content with a lazy digital
rendering of the artwork.
There has
been significant progress in recent years in the application of touch sensation
to human interaction with computers. But
I’m not asking for anything that sophisticated, after all this again is merely
an attempt to replicate the physical sleeve.
This is time to think outside the box and be more experimental.
When I get
this then I’ll join the download generation.
In the meantime I’ll buy the CD or Vinyl and rip it to my portable
device. This way I get the best of both worlds.