Apple Music is pressuring labels and musicians to adopt Apple Motion Album Covers, taking inspiration from Spotify’s Canvas feature, and similar for Tidal and Google Play. The reasons are clear from Spotify’s statistics:

When listeners see a Canvas, they are more likely to keep streaming (+5%
on average vs. control group), share the track (+145%), add to their
playlists (+20%), save the track (+1.4%), and visit your profile page
(+9%).

With growing demand for animated album cover loops, there’s work to be had here for animators. These must be up to Apple’s standards: 35 seconds, not flashy and a single shots with no cuts.

This kind of short video was already huge for social media. Soon every book will have an animated cover too. Humans like shiny movie things!

 How do I break into this new industry? My plan is:

1. Reach out to musician friends who are signed to record labels and are releasing stuff soon

2. Offer to create free animations for their releases

3. Get the attention of the people at the label who start hiring me to do these miniature music videos.

How else can I get hired in this field? It feels like a really great niche for me!

More stats from this article:

“According to a
BuzzSumo study, posts with images are shared more often on social media
platforms than those without images.

Studies have shown that album art
plays a significant role in listener engagement. A survey by music
streaming platform Deezer found that 61% of listeners admitted to
listening to music because they were drawn to the animated album cover.
Another Nielsen Music study found that 47% of users who stream music on
their smartphones are drawn to animated album covers on platforms.

Additionally,
a study published in the Journal of Advertising Research found that
“compelling visual images” can increase viewer attention by 75%.
Animated album covers with dynamic visuals, cool motion and effects are
more likely to capture the listener’s attention, which is essential in
today’s competitive music industry.

Animated album covers are not
only visually appealing, but also provide a way for artists to express
their creativity and music more dynamically. The International Journal
of Human-Computer Interaction published a study showing that animated
album covers can significantly impact the perceived quality and
popularity of music, making animated album covers a valuable tool for
artists looking to increase visibility on streaming platforms.”