Album covers have become a necessity in today's music industry. A common fixture in today's album before getting into the song collection itself, album covers, not only protects the cd or dvd inside the case, they also serve advertorial purposes and communicate the artistic expressions of the artists. With the growth that the music industry have seen these past decades, we have also seen how album covers evolved into an artistic medium. It became a "trademark" or "signature" not only of the album being advertised, but also of the artists who dutifully went from concept to creation of the album cover design.

Album art, also known as cd or DVD art, (depending actually on what it serves), has several purposes. As mentioned above, it serves advertising purposes. What better way to advertise the content of a cd or DVD than through its album covers? With excellent graphics, the possibility of the album to be picked up and checked by a customer just browsing through the products in a music store is high. The inclusion of quality photographs and the presence of a thematic unity with the album's content also increase the chances of increasing album sales. Not that customers buy albums because of the cover alone, but it sure is considered a factor in catching the customer's eye, where the advertising begins.

Aside from graphics and photographs, a cd and DVD cover that includes an insert of the songs' lyrics or movie synopsis together with the cd or DVD could also be a plus feature. This points out to a known fact that musical consumers want a quick glimpse of the contents of a movie or know the lyrics of a song. Then, add to that feature, a little information about the singer or "behind the scenes" of the album or movie. Customers are fans, too. Surely, they feel the curiosity of a fan or a movie lover, in some way. Putting such information make the album worth buying and keeping as collector's item. Layouts also matter. Logical, readable layouts, where the colors and text arrangements are not straining to the eyes are an asset in the business of graphic design.

Album cover is not only a good advertising strategy for the album itself, but provides good representation to the cover designers itself. As already mentioned, cd or DVD cover designers are able to express themselves in their designs. They are also able to set the trends in album artistic design, thus, paving the way for more business opportunities in the future like the chance to work with big recording companies. Successful businesses thrive through a excellent representation, which always precedes reputation-building.

CD and DVD covers also protect the content of the album. It makes album content last longer than the usual, making it perfect for collection. With its record surface readily damaged, stored information may be erased with irresponsible handling. To make sure this will not happen, CD and DVD covers were invented. Today, aside from the album cover, also included is a protective covering on the CD and DVD surface itself.