Open your favorite music program, be it iTunes, Spotify, or Windows Media Player. What’s the first thing you see? Is it a sea of cover albums? Chances are you (and your fans) are drawn to attractive cover art. Fans not only expect your unique sound, but also cover art as an extension of your creativity.

SongCast offers a library of free covers for you to use! You can download them to your computer and use your favorite image editor to add text, and other elements to your cover art.

Check out these articles for tips, tricks, and inspiration to help you create new cover art:

How to Make an Album’s Cover Art (eHow.com)
http://www.ehow.com/how_4925236_make-albums-cover-art.html

Common Design Styles Used in Album Artwork (Web Designer Depot)
http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2011/02/common-design-styles-used-in-album-artwork/

How I Designed 3 CD Jackets Just By Listening to Music (JustCreative.com)
http://justcreative.com/2008/05/10/how-to-design-a-cd-cover-by-listening-to-music/

100 Obscure and Remarkable CD Covers
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/05/13/100-obscure-and-remarkable-cd-covers/

Looking for some new computer programs to help you create better cover art? Check out some of these options (some have free trial periods to help you decide if the software is right for you):

AudioLabel CD/DVD/Bluray Label Maker
http://download.cnet.com/AudioLabel-CD-DVD-Bluray-Label-Maker/3000-2141_4-10153994.html

15 day free trial, $15.00 to buy.

Focus CD Cover Maker
http://download.cnet.com/Focus-CD-Cover-Maker/3000-2169_4-10297563.html

A little older, a little cheaper, comes with a free 9 cover print trial.  $13.99 to buy.