Hello there!!
If you’re back, thank you and if you’re new, hi! So we’ve mastered the E.P and now it’s time to get the artwork done. I’m hopeful that this blog can serve as inspiration, help or entertainment to someone out there to know that the life of an independent artist is great but loooong!!
Once the music is finished there is still so much to do as an artist and believe it or not, since my last post the past two weeks have been dedicated to me deciding on the artwork for my new single ‘Tell Me”. In an ideal world I would have decided what look really suited my brand, the mood of the song and done a photoshoot for this single. However factoring everything in a shoot can be quite costly, so I simply went into the archives and used an unused picture from an old shoot and guess what …it looks great and apart from this blog no-one would know the picture is four years old. ha! eek!
I do remember a time when album covers were iconic and pieces of art within themselves, a lot still are but it’s quite unrealistic for me to think I can compete with artists who are signed or the budget of a record label. And as I look around I see huge pop stars using a plain background, their name and the title of the song as their single cover. Lo-fi is now in, alongside pictures and videos that look like they were filmed on an old school camcorder from the 90’s. So basically no excuses Ione!
The process of getting to the finished product has been interesting. I used a cover art designer based in the states who was recommended to me by a friend. At every junction of my life I’m learning about myself and throughout this process I have learned that I love artists, I love phone calls and face to face meetings to exchange ideas, I love the back and forth between what I envision and what my music sparks for the designer… I love collaborating.
However in this instance because of distance I never spoke to my designer or met up which is fine. Instead, most of our exchanges and design ideas were sent via instagram. Hmmm. It struck me that I had to suggest sending over the song that the artwork was related to, when my instincts tell me that the song should inform every part of the design. I don’t even know if the designer even liked the song, (it’s a good thing I don’t need my ego massaging). This process was akin to me looking at the menu at at a fast food restaurant, placing the order and getting exactly what I ordered. When in fact, what makes me come alive is having ideas and watching them morph into something they never could have been without another creatives input; getting back something different & often better than my original idea, with us both agreeing two heads are better than one. This is not a criticism, merely an observation, does the process even matter anyway I ask?
In the end I have a front cover I love that does represent me and my music, and what sparks joy in me will always be important to me. But what is sometimes more important than my preferred methods and even me feeling alive every second of every day, is my art having a chance to be heard by the world. As a producer friend of mine once told me “the music industry is a results game” and business got done. The pace of the industry is fast and I’m learning how to simultaneously nurture the artist in me and get my work finished and out.
With all that being said keep a close eye on my social media this week as I will be revealing the artwork to my new single “Tell Me”
Much love,
Ione
