Why do modern book covers suck?

[Cactus Chef]

My criticism is largely limited to the realms of Fantasy and Sci-Fi--I can't speak as much for the other genres. But as someone whose consumption of decades-old sci-fi and fantasy novels has skyrocketed since getting an e-reader, I am constantly struck by how bland the cover of the e-books versions are compared to their 60s/70s/80s tradeback counterparts.

Examples

• Neuromancer - First Edition vs Modern cover (I've actually seen this MS-PAINT garbage in-person at a Barnes & Noble, and it's no better in-person).
• God Emperor of Dune - Classic paperback vs Modern "Dune Chronicles" cover
• The War Hound and the World's Pain - First Edition cover vs Orion Ebook Cover

I could go on, those happen to just be three I read in recent memory. I don't know if the "minimalism" aesthetic took over all things, or if publishers re-releasing older novels decided they didn't want to spend the extra capital required to license those old covers and/or commission new ones. But it's sad. Older sci-fi covers felt like they were stretching the limits of imagination, and modern ones just feel...bland.

[Aleron Ives]

I suspect it's the same reason why modern album covers suck. Most people don't buy albums anymore, so it's a waste of money to hire an artist to create an interesting cover when you can spend five minutes taking a picture of the singer standing in a room and call it a day. The same may apply to e-book covers, since people who read on their phones aren't going to see the full-size cover every time they close the book.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Aleron Ives

I suspect it's the same reason why modern album covers suck. Most people don't buy albums anymore, so it's a waste of money to hire an artist to create an interesting cover when you can spend five minutes taking a picture of the singer standing in a room and call it a day. The same may apply to e-book covers, since people who read on their phones aren't going to see the full-size cover every time they close the book.

Yes, and this even goes for paper books. In the old days people went to a bookstore and looked for something to read. The first thing to catch their eye was the cover, and it was often the main factor in their buying decisions. Now most people buy their books online. They read the synopsis, the reviews, the sample and so on. So why waste money on pretty covers when they're no longer a significant factor in buying decisions?

[Renate]

Aw, quit your complaining. (Just kidding.)
I mean, it could be gutenberg.org covers!

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Yes, and this even goes for paper books. In the old days people went to a bookstore and looked for something to read. The first thing to catch their eye was the cover, and it was often the main factor in their buying decisions. Now most people buy their books online. They read the synopsis, the reviews, the sample and so on. So why waste money on pretty covers when they're no longer a significant factor in buying decisions?

Even online, the first thing I see is the cover image.

[DiapDealer]

Frame art; read books.

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by Renate

Aw, quit your complaining. (Just kidding.)
I mean, it could be gutenberg.org covers!

I wonder what they were thinking when they did that. Though I suspect they weren't.

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by Aleron Ives

I suspect it's the same reason why modern album covers suck.

I'm not even sure what's going on with the covers of the last few albums Big Wreck has put out.

[Aleron Ives]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

I wonder what they were thinking when they did that. Though I suspect they weren't.

At least Standard E-Books uses public-domain artwork for covers, rather than random geometric patterns...

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by Aleron Ives

At least Standard E-Books uses public-domain artwork for covers, rather than random geometric patterns...

I found this NYPL article about it (live version, if you like stretched-out images).

[Aleron Ives]

Yikes, so somebody actually spent a fair amount of time creating a way to generate those hideous covers.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Cactus Chef

Neuromancer - First Edition vs Modern cover (I've actually seen this MS-PAINT garbage in-person at a Barnes & Noble, and it's no better in-person).

Honestly, I don't like either of those covers, nor the old Ace paperback covers. The best I've seen are the Brazilian covers for Neuromancer, Count Zero and Mona Lisa Overdrive.

God Emperor of Dune - Classic paperback vs Modern "Dune Chronicles" cover

I do like the OG Dune covers. But I kinda like the new 'pattern' covers of the original Herbert Dune novels. They may not be your style, but they do not feel like something they had an intern knock out over a lunch break.

The War Hound and the World's Pain - First Edition cover vs Orion Ebook Cover

Orion seems to be doing that black on yellow for all their books.

The first two aren't my style, but they aren't terrible. You (and I) are just out of touch with what the current trend is.

[ps67]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

I'm not even sure what's going on with the covers of the last few albums Big Wreck has put out.

I thought they were ping pong racket rubbers...

[Cactus Chef]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Orion seems to be doing that black on yellow for all their books.

Not all. If you look at the Michael Moorcock books available on Kobo UK (of which I have been consuming a ton recently), it seems like anything that was part of their "Gateway Essentials" line gets cover art, but everything else just gets the generic black-on-yellow text.

The first two aren't my style, but they aren't terrible. You (and I) are just out of touch with what the current trend is.

I wanted to make it clear that it wasn't just a "things were better in my day" post, because I was born in the late 80's and I feel like the trend was already turning towards the generic by the time I was reading books. I genuinely think the older covers looked more interesting.

[Uncle Robin]

Maybe it is more pronounced in some genres than others? I read primarily historical romances - which often unimaginatively recycle the same "model pairs" on different backgrounds - and mysteries, many of which have interesting and creative covers, at least to me. The attached are recent books I've read or pre-ordered, both covers are great, imo