Abstract (eng)
The emphasis of this work is on the media-historical development of the vinyl record and its package, the albumcover. The timeframe of the exploration, in chronological order, covers the invention of the Gramophone from Emil Berliner (1887) and the first ever record cover of history from Alex Steinweiss (1940), as well as the digital revolution, at the end of the 90s, where both mediums lost their importance. Therefore, out of each era, not less than one record cover of the rock- and pop-history is analysed, whereas especially the social-, socio-cultural- and the economical terms of the particular era is discussed. (Main focus is on the aesthetics and the message of the cover in the diverse musical genres: Folk Rock, Acid Rock, Hard Rock, Fusion, Motown…) In the past 50 years the musical culture developed. Record covers served as a medium and reflected the spirit of the times. Nowadays music-media accommodated to the modern and fast way of living. Because of the technical evolution, the internet and the different kinds of download-portals, the way of listening to music changed as well as its marketing. There is a loss in the vividness of music, and the cover is not longer needed in its physical form. The music market is supersaturated and since the 90s commercial music only made slowly progress, whereby “stars” come and go.
Nevertheless, the development goes back to the basics. The record as well as its cover enjoys popularity again. This work wants to proof, why the cover and the record as a medium was so important in the past and is still in the future.