It doesn’t happen often, but there are some cases where different albums have had the same, or at least very similar, artwork on their covers.
While some bands have artwork designed specifically for the front of their albums or simply use a photograph of themselves, others use illustrations and designs that were already created. Sometimes, this has caused legal discrepancies, but it’s usually just a matter of getting a license from the artist.
In one recent example, one of the musicians actually changed their album artwork after being accused of ripping off another band. Doja Cat shared a photo of the cover for her album Scarlet in August of 2023, a few months before it came out, and it featured a pink spider over a white background.
People fled to the comments section to let her know that it looked uncannily similar to German metal band Chaver’s album Of Gloom, which was also coming out later that year. The cover for Of Gloom had been revealed prior to Doja Cat’s, so she was accused of ripping the group off.
READ MORE: The 5 Grossest Metal Album Covers of All Time
However, both album covers were designed by an artist named Dusty Ray, and while they looked incredibly similar, there were a few slight differences. Regardless, Doja Cat changed the cover the next day, using another one of Ray’s illustrations of two spiders.
See the two aforementioned album covers, as well as some others that had a similar story, below. Keep in mind that just because the musicians put out albums with similar artwork doesn’t mean that problems were created over it and no one is necessarily “to blame” when such a thing happens.
Albums by Different Bands or Musicians That Have the Same (or Very Similar) Cover Artwork
These albums featured either the same exact artwork or incredibly similar concepts.
Gallery Credit: Lauryn Schaffner
Rock + Metal Album Covers That Had to Be Changed Due to Controversy
These bands had to change their album covers because they were too controversial.
Gallery Credit: Lauryn Schaffner