If only the music business were only about music. Unfortunately, if you’re an indie artist, that means you’re doing most or all of your own marketing as well, and that includes creating art.

It’s undeniable that attractive album covers help sales, since they bring your album to someone’s eye. In iTunes and other online stores, that cover – in thumbnail form – is often the only clue a visitor gets about who you are versus everyone else in your genre.

You need appealing cover art in the music business. Let’s talk a bit about getting it.

Ways To Get A Great Cover For Your Album

1 – Just hire someone.

Honestly, art-for-hire is dirt cheap these days. You could probably even get something acceptable over on Fiverr if you’re really on a tight budget. Keep in mind, virtually all of the most iconic album art in history has been produced by outside artists, hired by the band to match their own vision.

This is one area of your marketing where it may be worth the price to hire an outside expert.

2 – Creative Commons

The Creative Commons is the other go-to site for quick cover art on a budget, because much of their content can be reused for free as long as you give credit. It’s not always a good idea to use a CC image unmodified – since lots of other people are – but they’re great to use for layers in a montage, or to clip specific elements.

3 – DIY With Paint.Net

Nothing says you can’t do it yourself, from scratch or from public domain images, but you’ll need a graphics program and some time to use it. Our recommendation is Paint.Net, a free piece of software that combines most features common to high-end graphics suites, in a package that feels more like Windows Paint. It also has an extensive library of third-party plug-ins for effects.

More experienced graphic editors might also look into GIMP, but it’s got a learning curve like a brick wall.

So, where do you get your cover art? Tell the world below!