I recently subscribed to a podcast that is basically a list of free MP3′s that various bands offer up for download. It’s a great way to get exposed to new music but one thing I’ve noticed is that most of them don’t include album art.

While album art is probably the last thing on the band’s mind I have to say that when a song is hanging in the balance the lack of album art is enough for me to delete the song. What is the purpose of having a lovely, vivid, large screen on my Zune if I don’t get any album art while listening to the song?

While I love digital distribution and what sites like MySpace have done for indie and startup bands the thought of losing album cover art is a sad prospect.