What Are Labels on Cover Art Sites and How Do You Use Them to Find Covers?
On a cover-art site like Cover Century, "label" usually means one of three things: the record label that released a music album, the publisher or distributor behind a DVD, Blu-ray, or game, or the small logo and text block printed on the cover itself. You use label information to confirm you have the right edition, to search when you only remember who released something, and to organize a downloaded collection. It matters most when a title has multiple releases, regions, or reissues that share a name but not a cover.
The three meanings of "label" in cover art
| Meaning | Where it appears | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Record label | CD and vinyl LP covers, spine, disc face | Who released the music; helps separate original pressings from reissues |
| Publisher / distributor | DVD, Blu-ray, and console game covers, often near the bottom edge | Who manufactured or distributed that edition; differs by region |
| Printed label text and logo | Anywhere on the cover art itself | The visual marker you match against a scan or photo |
Cover Century's own catalog reflects this mix. Its categories include CD Covers, DVD Covers, Blu-Ray Covers, Vinyl LP Covers, Movie Covers, Book Covers, and a long list of console and handheld platforms (Genesis, NES, Nintendo 64, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Sega CD, Super Nintendo, Xbox, Wii, Wii U, 3DS, Game Boy lines, Nintendo DS, PSP, PC, and more). A "label" question can come from any of those categories, so the first step is deciding which kind of label you actually mean.
Why label information helps you find the right cover
Two releases of the same title can look completely different, and the label is often the fastest way to tell them apart.
- Region differences. A German DVD release and a US release of the same film usually carry different distributor logos and different cover layouts. Cover Century's recently added list shows German-language DVD entries such as "Im Juli dvd cover german" and "Old Shatterhand dvd cover german," which sit alongside English-titled entries.
- Reissues and special editions. A remastered album or a "Gold Collection" disc may reuse the title but change the label branding and artwork. The site's recent list includes entries like "Blade III Trinity Gold Collection 2," where the edition name is part of what distinguishes the cover.
- Series and season sets. Multi-disc TV releases often carry the studio or distributor label plus a season number, as with "Criminal Minds Season 10 4" or "V Die Besucher Die komplette zweite Staffel 2." Matching the label and the season together prevents grabbing the wrong set.
If you only remember the label and not the exact title, that is still a usable search clue — but you will usually need to combine it with a title fragment, a year, or a platform.
How to search and narrow down covers by label
Cover Century provides a search box ("Search Here") plus browse links for each category. A practical workflow:
- Pick the category first. CD Covers, DVD Covers, Blu-Ray Covers, or the specific console/handheld section. This removes most irrelevant results before you type anything.
- Search the title, then filter by label visually. The site's search returns covers; you then compare the label logo and text on each result against the copy you own.
- Use the "recently added" list as a cross-check. Entries there show a title, type, and date added (for example, "Me Time 2022 : Label dvd 2022-09-17"). The type column tells you whether you are looking at a DVD, CD, or another format.
- Confirm the edition before downloading. Check the label, the region hints in the title (such as "german"), and any edition wording like "uncut," "Gold Collection," or a season number.
Expected result: you end up with a cover whose label, title, and edition all match your physical or digital copy, rather than a same-title cover from a different release.
Common problems and how to handle them
- Missing label on the cover. Some scans crop the spine or bottom edge where the publisher logo sits. If the label is your only identifier, look for another scan of the same title and compare.
- Mismatched label between cover and disc. Bootlegs, budget reprints, and regional reprints sometimes pair a familiar cover with a different distributor. Treat the printed label as one clue, not proof.
- Region and reissue confusion. The same film or album can exist under several labels across regions. Decide which region's release you own before searching, and use title wording like "german" or edition names as filters.
- Title-only searches returning too much. Add the platform or format (CD, DVD, Blu-ray, or a console name) to cut the list down.
Organizing downloaded covers by label
If you collect covers rather than grabbing one at a time, label is a useful folder or tag alongside title, type, and year. A simple scheme:
Type / Label / Title (Year)— for example,CD / [Label] / Album Name (1998)orDVD / [Distributor] / Film Name (2004).- Keep the edition marker in the filename when it exists:
uncut,Gold Collection,Season 2,german. - Note the date you downloaded it if you re-check for updated scans, since Cover Century states it adds new audio and DVD covers weekly.
This makes it obvious which label a cover belongs to and stops duplicate or wrong-edition files from piling up.
One caution: Cover Century describes its archive as over 1,000,000 album art covers with weekly updates, but the site material does not state licensing terms for reuse. If you plan to redistribute or print covers, verify the rights for that specific artwork rather than assuming the download itself grants permission.