Album cover and thumbnail design to enhance visibility on smartphone screens

In recent years, music listening habits have shifted toward streaming services such as Spotify. With this in mind, we conducted a survey targeting men and women in their 20s to identify the factors that influence listeners when selecting songs, with the aim of clarifying the importance of album covers for future music marketing. The survey results showed that 85.9% of respondents answered that “album covers catch their eye” when searching for songs on streaming services such as Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music. In addition, 77.4% said that “if the cover matches their preferences, they become interested in the song or musician.” These data indicate that album covers have a strong influence as visual elements shaping the first impression of songs and musicians. These results suggest that listeners rely on visual information—particularly album covers and music video thumbnails—as cues when deciding whether to play a song. By consistently presenting visual content that shapes listeners’ first impressions, such as album covers and thumbnails, artists can establish a shared image and contribute to stronger branding. These findings suggest that visual elements can function as important strategic tools in music marketing.