Album Art Exchange

General

I found this forum when I was searching for albumart. I see a lot of talking, but where is the actual art?

http://www.albumartexchange.com

I like what I see! Is it OK for me to just download unlimited album art, without contributing album art myself?

Yes, that is fine! Not everybody is a photoshop guru. But as with everything on the internet: all content that is available costs money to keep online. That is the same for our albumart. We have to pay for hosting and development of the site. So if you like this site and use the content we provide, please kindly consider to donate! If every registered user donated $5 we would have sufficient funding for a few years.

Can I be banned from Album Art Exchange for downloading too much artwork?

No, you will not be banned just for downloading a lot of artwork from this site, as long as it is for your own personal use.

However a lot of abuse of our service has been going on in the past. People built scripts to download album art automatically, people downloaded artwork for commercial use (for instance using our artwork to print on t-shirts, phone covers etc. and selling those) and other kinds of abuse.

Most of that abuse came from people using VPN connections or proxy-servers. That is why we mistrust users that do use that kind of internet access.

We also sometimes have to block a complete country temporary to stop abuse from that country. If you have been blocked and think that that is a mistake, please contact our admin.

I also want to upload some album art that you haven't got here yet, what do I need to know?

All the answers you need are in the FAQ that follow.

You state that this site is about high quality artwork. What does that mean?

There are plenty of other sites out there that provide albumartwork. But to speak with the words of the founder of AAX: "I'm fussy about album artwork. It's easy to find a lot of the same artwork found here elsewhere online, but often the quality is terrible: Small low-resolution images, heavily compressed with lots of visible JPEG artifacts. Bad colors and poor contrast. Excessive cropping. Heavy-handed artificial sharpness. Dust specs, scratches, creases, and scuffs. Crooked, misaligned scans. Scans where it looks someone didn't even take the trouble to pull a CD insert out of its jewel case, or didn't even bother to remove shrink wrap from a CD, before slapping the artwork onto a scanner. This collection, which has now grown well beyond my initial personal collection, aims to do better. Much better." So please read all the FAQ before uploading.

I have found artwork on another site that is dedicated to provide artwork. Can I download them and upload them here?

That depends. If the source is a big company like Apple Music, record company or sources like that: Yes that is fine, if the quality is good. If the source is another artwork site (like steveyb.co.uk, fanart.tv, discogs.com or any private collection), you may not, unless you are the creator of the material.

What kind of artwork do you want to provide at AAX?

Primary focus is on frontcovers of musicreleases: cd's, vinyl, cassette's, digital releases.

Back-covers and inlays are also well-appreciated, but they are not a must.

Image size and quality

What is the first step when I want to upload album art?

Check if the cover you want to upload is already available.

There is already a version of the cover I want to upload. Should I still upload mine?

Yes, if:

Your version quality is better than the ones already available
You have a higher resolution than the ones already available

No, if:

You have the exact same version that's already online
You have only minorly edited some colors of a version that's already online

It helps if you provide a comment with your artwork why you think it's better than another version.

I have found artwork that isn't quite the quality it could be, but it is better than the best available elsewhere. Should I upload it?

Yes, you can upload it and mark it as "Needs work".

What image sizes should I upload?

We want to provide our users "ready to use" image sizes at 3 standard sizes, since not all people know how to resize an image. Therefor you should upload the following most-used image sizes:

Square artwork (High Quality)

Square artwork is to be uploaded in the following sizes:

600x600px - Must have! There is not a single excuse not to upload this size. If your source image is smaller than this, don't bother to upload.
1000x1000px - Must have if the source image is equal to or larger than this
1500x1500px - Must have if the source image is equal to or larger than this

So please, ALWAYS upload at least the three above sizes if you have a high-quality image!

800x800px - Nice to have if the source image is equal to or larger than this
1200x1200px - Nice to have if the source image is equal to or larger than this

If your source image is larger than 1000 but smaller than 1500, you can upload your largest image in the nearest round 100 you can create without upscaling (1400, 1300,1200 or 1100). Same goes for source images between 900 and 1000 and between 800 and 700. (900x900 and 700x700).

Example 1: your source image is 1340x1340. You scale this one to 1300x1300, 1000x1000 and 600x600 and upload this series (with 1200x1200 and 800x800 optional).
Example 2: your source image is 945x945. You scale this one to 900x900 and 600x600 and upload this series (with 800x800 optional).

Exceptions in square artwork (High Quality)

Only exception on the "round 100's" rule is with "print size" covers at 300 dpi (dots per inch). These covers must be the following size:

1417x1417 pixels (=120x120 mm @ 300dpi) - Optional or...
1425x1425 pixels (=4.75 inch @ 300dpi) - Optional

NOTICE: We have some server-side scripts running that auto-delete some images

Square images under 1000 pixels which are not the following resolutions in width: 600, 650, 700, 750, 800, 850, 900, 950 (this is for images uploaded since 2018). We prefer round hundreds!
Not quite square images 1000px and under (currently if it is within 20px)

Square artwork (Needs work)

Only upload the highest resolution. All other resolutions will be deleted, since an eventual end-result will be scaled down from the largest resolution.

Non square artwork (High Quality)

Digipacks have an aspect ratio of 1:0,873. CD Maxi Single (slimline cases) inlays have an aspect ratio of 1:0,870.

Experience around here have learned that 99% of the album art fits in an aspect ratio of 1:0,880 or 1:0,900.

This means:

600x528px or 600x540px - Must have! There is not a single excuse not to upload this size. If your source image is smaller than this, don't bother to upload.
1000x880px or 1000x900px - Must have if the source image is equal to or larger than this
1500x1320px or 1500x1350px - Must have if the source image is equal to or larger than this

So please, ALWAYS upload at least the three above sizes if you have a high-quality image!

800x704px - Nice to have if the source image is equal to or larger than this
1200x1056px - Nice to have if the source image is equal to or larger than this

If the width of your source image is larger than 1000, but smaller than 1500, you can upload it in the nearest round 100 you can create without upscaling (1400, 1300, 1200 or 1100). Same goes for source images between 900 and 1000 and between 800 and 700. (900x792 and 700x616).

Non square artwork (Needs work)

Only upload the highest resolution. All other resolutions will be deleted, since an eventual end-result will be scaled down from the largest resolution.

General

All but the above sizes will be deleted on sight, unless it's artwork for a special CD or LP Box, gatefolds, cassingles or music dvd covers.
Never upscale images. This produces images of inferior quality.
Never EVER distort an image to create a square out of a non-square image. (We LOVE squares, but not at all cost)
Never crop a non-square image to a square image if it means losing crucial artwork or parts of text on the cover.
If you crop a digipack or cd maxi single to a square, also provide the original aspect ratio.

Why don't you just let me only upload the largest version of an image?

Like we stated earlier: we want to provide our users with "ready to go" images. 1500, 1000 and 600 are very commonly used imagesizes, where 600x600 is still most-downloaded. If your source-image is bigger than 1500x1500 (e.g. 3000x3000) a scaled version to 600x600 will be better if it's done straight from the 3000x3000 version compared to a scaled version from the already previously scaled 1500x1500 version.

I have uploaded artwork, but I found some errors, so I improved it. What Do I do?

You edit your previous upload and replace the image with your improved version. Please do not upload a whole new version, since it takes us time to delete your first upload, or judge the deletion if you deleted your earlier post yourself.

In what file format should I upload images?

Only in JPEG (jpg), with the least compression, in RGB Color.

Does it matter in what resolution (dpi) I upload my images?

Basically not. Resolution is only useful when it comes to printing an image. So only if you aim to upload a print ready image it matters. In That case: use 300 dpi (dots per inch) or ppi (pixels per inch), with dimensions of 1417x1417 pixels (=120x120 mm @ 300dpi), which is the original size of an audio CD booklet.

What's all the fuss about when it comes to compression and JPEG artifacts?

The higher the compression of an image, the more of the original pixel-information is lost. This results in visible errors in the image, known as JPEG artifact. For details, read this Wikipedia page about it. Because we aim very high when it comes to the quality of our artwork, we are quite picky on this.

Filling the uploadfields

Why should I read all this?

Because you will be perma-banned if you don't! More seriously: in order to keep the artwork accessible and easy-to-find naming and sorting all the files right is crucial! We are really sharp in moderating this and it takes a lot of our time if users don't do this properly, so please, before uploading: read all the FAQ!

What do I put in the "Album" field

Write down the exact title of the album you are uploading. Use the format with all first letters in capitals (Initial Caps / Title Case), except for articles and short prepositions and conjunctions (If not sure you can use this site to help you out).

In addition you can add several extra info at the end of the title:

(12") > for vinyl albums
(Single) > for cardboard CD single
(Maxi Single) > for slimline case CD maxi single
(12" Single) > for 12" vinyl maxi single
(7" Single) > for 7" vinyl single
(3" Single) > for 3" mini cd single
(Digipack) > for digipack
(...)

> and so on...

Note: the default image source is 5" CD.

Other relevant information, like if the image-art is specifically for a country or region you can add that between blocks at the very end of the title.

[US]
[Europe]
[FR] / [NL] / [DE] etc..

What do I put in the "Album sort title" field?

Just copy/paste the "Album" field. Only if the title of the album starts with "The, A or An", put it at the end of the title.

Example: Album: The Clock and the Moon --> Album sort title: clock and the moon, the
Example: Album: A New Day Has Come --> Album sort title: new day has come, a
Example: Album: A New Day Has Come (Single) --> Album sort title: new day has come, a (single)
Example: Album: Anna Wintour (Single) (Explicit) --> Album sort title: anna wintour (single) (explicit)

The site will automatically put the whole thing in lower case, so no need for you to do so.

What do I put in the "Artist" field?

The name of the artist/band as it appears on the albumcover. Artist and band names should always be written with first capitals, no matter how they are stylized. Please note that this field has an auto-complete. If you see the artist you mean in de list, select that item. Based on this, the field "Artist sort title" will be automatically filled.

For instance: if you mean the band "The National", you start typing and then select "The National [The National the Ohio rock band]"

What do I put in the "Artist sort title" field?

Existing artists

First of all: if you see the field autofilled, based on the input you gave in the "Artist" field don't change a thing, unless the autofill shows an artist / band, different from the one you are uploading.

In that case: fill it like this:
artist/band name description

Band description examples:

Artist: The National [The Ohio Rock Band]- Artist Sort Title: national, the the ohio rock band
Artist: The Sweet [Andy Scott et al]- Artist Sort Title: sweet, the andy scott et al
Artist: Kaleidoscope [NYC Punk] - Artist Sort Title: kaleidoscope nyc punk
Artist: Kaleidoscope [The 60's English Band]- Artist Sort Title: kaleidoscope the 60s english band
Artist: Kaleidoscope [The 60's Mexican Band]- Artist Sort Title: kaleidoscope the 60s mexican band
Artist: Kaleidoscope [The 60's US Band]- Artist Sort Title: kaleidoscope the 60s us band
Artist: Melanie [Melanie Safka] - Artist Sort Title: safka, melanie
...

Notes:

If you disagree with the AUTO-COMPLETE sort value, do NOT change it for your upload.

let us know in the forums to get fixed (otherwise you create a duplicate artist and create work)
PROTIP: Many artists have an alias in square brackets (to make them unique), or to add extra information
so be aware that common names/words might require you to add a space and a square bracket

example:

type "Police" and you get a lot of suggestions
but type "Police [" and voila, you have "The Police [The Police the UK band]"

New artists:

If a person's name, we sort: last name, first name(s), but not if it's preceded by a title (eg Mr, Dr, DJ). Note: some "titles" are also names, eg Major is a real first name, but could also be a title
If a group that starts with a real person's name: last name, first name(s) and the rest
If it starts with the word "a", "an" or "the", that moves to the end after a comma
a combo of b+c
otherwise: no change, add it as it, 100%, the whole lot
Note: sneak at the end any alternative spellings

examples

Benny Goodman -> goodman, benny
Benny Goodman & His Orchestra -> goodman, benny & his orchestra
The Band -> band, the
A Band -> band, a
The Benny Goodman Band -> goodman, benny band, the
example of alt spellings so search works: AC/DC -> acdc, ac dc, ac/dc

If you have an album or a single with a collaboration of artists, separate the artists with a comma. E.g.:

Rihanna
Rihanna, Drake
Rihanna, Eminem

Notes:

We do not use commas in artist names for this reason - so "Peter, Paul & Mary" = no, "Peter Paul & Mary" = yes
Do not use anything else to separate artists
For now, only the first artist mentioned will be found in searches. That is a bug in the site that needs fixing
When using "Various Artists as the Artist, never add artists separately in addition to that in the field

What do I put in the "Composer" field?

You only need to fill this with classical music. Most of the times it is composed by somebody else than the performer/performers, but you want it to be searchable by both.

Examples are composers like Mozart, Bach, Schubert etc. That's where the composer field comes in handy.

It needs to be filled following the same rules as with the "Artist" field.

What do I put in the "Composer sort title" field?

Again: only needed with classical music. Follow the same rules as the "Artist sort title".

What do I put in the "Comment" field?

Ideally, we'd like to see the info specific to that release so that we can differentiate it from all of the others explain a variation in color or design. At minimun, a catalog and label would be nice. At best, full info from Discogs.

Illustration: Edward Bell
Design: Reiner Design Consultants, Inc.
Label: RCA VICP-6333
Format: CD, Album, Mini-LP, Papersleeve
Country: Japan
Released: 1991

Beside the above, the original release date as well as the "Released", Series, Barcode as well if applicable.

My images keep getting removed, what am I doing wrong?

First check if your images comply with the rules above. If so, and there's no proper answer why your images are deleted, ask a mod.

Is that all?

Probably not. If not sure, ask a moderator.