Covermount
Encyclopedia
Covermount is the name given to storage media (containing software and or audiovisual media) or other products (ranging from toys to flip-flops) packaged as part of a magazine
or newspaper
. The usual method of packaging is to place the media or product in a transparent plastic sleeve and mount it on the cover of the magazine with adhesive tape or glue, hence the name.
though the term "covermount" was not in usage at that time. The Private Eye recordings were pressed onto 7" floppy vinyl (known as "flexi-discs" and "flimsies") and mounted on to the front of the magazine. The weekly pop music paper NME
issued audio recordings of rock music on similar 7" flexi-discs as covermounts in the 1970s. http://www.allvinylexperience.com/Site/Lyntone.html
The covermount practice continued with computer magazines in the early era of home computer
s. In the United Kingdom computer hobbyist magazines began distributing tapes and later floppy disk
s with their publications. These disks included demo
and shareware
versions of games, applications
, computer drivers
, operating system
s, computer wallpaper
s and other (usually free) content. One of the first covermount games to be added as a covermount was the 1984 Thompson Twins Adventure.
The practice of using floppy disks as a storage medium for software remained most popular until American
magazines picked up the practice using compact disc
s. This move allowed to distribute bigger files like video trailers.
Most magazines backed up by large publishers like Linux Format
included a covermount CD or DVD with a Linux distribution
and other Open Source
applications. The distribution of discs with source programs was also common in programming magazines: while the printed version had the code explained, the disk had the code ready to be compiled without forcing the reader to type the whole listing into the computer by hand.
In other places, such as Finland
, covermounts on computer magazines never caught on. Instead, popular Finnish magazines such as MikroBitti
offered subscribers access to an exclusive BBS
via modem, and later via the World Wide Web
.
Adding audiovisual media as a covermount has started with music magazine
s adding covermounts in the form of sampler for promotional uses, using compact cassette
s as a storage medium. The cassette was in the end replaced by the compact disc.
Later, film magazines have started to include film trailers and occasionally complete film
s to their print media. First VHS
cassettes were added, later followed by the DVD
.
Apart from magazines also newspapers have discovered the covermount and started to add compact discs to their publications.
Magazines are also including non-storage media like toys, games, stationery sets, make up, cross stitch kits and whatever the publisher believes will help the sales of their titles.
In the United Kingdom
, many television
-related "partware" magazines (magazines aimed at collectors which build up to a complete set over months or years) have been launched in recent years, with covermounts containing episodes of the subject show (such as Dad's Army
, Stargate SG-1
or The Prisoner
).
American musician Prince
is known for offering studio albums free with various newspaper publications. His 2007 album Planet Earth
was the first to be given this treatment, in the United Kingdom, in partnership with The Mail on Sunday
. His new album 20Ten
was released in 2010, in Belgium, under the same circumstances, with the same happening for the album with other publications across Europe. Pop rock band McFly
too released a covermount album, which was Radio:Active
(their fourth studio album). Other artists known to release covermount albums are UB40
, Peter Gabriel
, Calvin Harris
and Soulwax
. In April 2007, EMI
licensed the Mail on Sunday to cover-mount 2.25 million copies of Mike Oldfield
's Tubular Bells
shortly before the rights on it were due to revert back to him, something about which the artist was not best pleased.
The initial purpose of covermount discs was to distribute demo versions of video games. Initial magazines, like Amiga Format
or ST Format
had one or more floppy disks with demos of upcoming games, but the fragility of the media and the increasing size of demos made publishers turn to compact discs, which were cheaper to produce, more resistant to damage, and had over 300 times more capacity. CDs remain the most common storage media, but in the past several years, demos have grown from mere 50MB files to 500MB or larger. This discourages magazines from distributing most of the larger demos, unless the magazine has an exclusive distribution agreement or the title is highly anticipated. While in 1997 a CD could carry over 15 demos, in 2005 the typical CD has 5 or fewer. This has led some magazines to insert a second CD, or to use DVD media instead.
Covermounts came late to the world of video game console
publications. Since nearly all 8-bit and 16-bit consoles were cartridge-based (with the exceptions of Sega
's Mega CD and NEC's PC Engine CD), covermount demos only began appearing in 1996, with the official Sega and PlayStation
magazines.
and Amstrad Action put full versions of software, usually games on their covertapes. These games, provided by distributors from a list of games with lesser commercial value, are also often found in budget range
labels, and can range from older but highly regarded titles to unknown titles with little shelf space. As access to internet gaming websites such as GameSpot
or IGN
grew, so did the importance of having a strong covermount. Others, like PC Format
used to distribute full versions of unknown commercial software, with a beginners' guide in the printed version.
More notably, Sensible Software
made several games for distribution with Amiga Power
, like Sensible Massacre (uses Sensible Soccer
graphics, where the player throws grenades at Dutch players, following the loss of England
against the Dutch in the USA'94 qualifiers) or Sensible Train Spotting
(related to the hobby
), the last game developed by the company for the Commodore Amiga
.
Games redistributed by covermount occasionally have problems if the originals were fitted with copy protection
measures. If a buyer tries to apply a patch or update, there is a high chance of the game not recognizing a covermount CD, as they are often reprints and lack the copy prevention sectors.
Software publishers, both then and now, are often against the overuse of putting software on the covers of magazines as they see it is deflating the value of software.
connections were commonplace, one of the fastest methods by which a computer virus
could spread was to be included inadvertently on a coverdisc. Although discs are thoroughly scanned and carefully assembled, there have been cases of discs being distributed with viruses, damaging the credibility and reputation of the magazine.
Record company representative decries 'covermount culture', 29 June 2007, The Guardian
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
or newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
. The usual method of packaging is to place the media or product in a transparent plastic sleeve and mount it on the cover of the magazine with adhesive tape or glue, hence the name.
History
Audio recordings were distributed in the UK by the use of covermounts in the 1960s by the fortnightly satirical magazine Private EyePrivate Eye
Private Eye is a fortnightly British satirical and current affairs magazine, edited by Ian Hislop.Since its first publication in 1961, Private Eye has been a prominent critic and lampooner of public figures and entities that it deemed guilty of any of the sins of incompetence, inefficiency,...
though the term "covermount" was not in usage at that time. The Private Eye recordings were pressed onto 7" floppy vinyl (known as "flexi-discs" and "flimsies") and mounted on to the front of the magazine. The weekly pop music paper NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
issued audio recordings of rock music on similar 7" flexi-discs as covermounts in the 1970s. http://www.allvinylexperience.com/Site/Lyntone.html
The covermount practice continued with computer magazines in the early era of home computer
Home computer
Home computers were a class of microcomputers entering the market in 1977, and becoming increasingly common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a single nontechnical user...
s. In the United Kingdom computer hobbyist magazines began distributing tapes and later floppy disk
Floppy disk
A floppy disk is a disk storage medium composed of a disk of thin and flexible magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier lined with fabric that removes dust particles...
s with their publications. These disks included demo
Game demo
A game demo is a freely distributed demonstration or preview of an upcoming or recently released video game. Demos are typically released by the game's publisher to help consumers get a feel of the game before deciding whether to buy the full version....
and shareware
Shareware
The term shareware is a proprietary software that is provided to users without payment on a trial basis and is often limited by any combination of functionality, availability, or convenience. Shareware is often offered as a download from an Internet website or as a compact disc included with a...
versions of games, applications
Application software
Application software, also known as an application or an "app", is computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks. Examples include enterprise software, accounting software, office suites, graphics software and media players. Many application programs deal principally with...
, computer drivers
Device driver
In computing, a device driver or software driver is a computer program allowing higher-level computer programs to interact with a hardware device....
, operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
s, computer wallpaper
Computer wallpaper
Wallpaper is an image used as a background of a graphical user interface on a computer screen or mobile communications device. On a computer it is usually for the desktop, while for a mobile phone it is usually the background for the 'home' or 'idle' screen...
s and other (usually free) content. One of the first covermount games to be added as a covermount was the 1984 Thompson Twins Adventure.
The practice of using floppy disks as a storage medium for software remained most popular until American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
magazines picked up the practice using compact disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
s. This move allowed to distribute bigger files like video trailers.
Most magazines backed up by large publishers like Linux Format
Linux Format
Linux Format was the UK's first Linux-specific magazine, and is currently the best-selling Linux title in the UK. It is also exported to many countries worldwide. It is published by Future Publishing...
included a covermount CD or DVD with a Linux distribution
Linux distribution
A Linux distribution is a member of the family of Unix-like operating systems built on top of the Linux kernel. Such distributions are operating systems including a large collection of software applications such as word processors, spreadsheets, media players, and database applications...
and other Open Source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
applications. The distribution of discs with source programs was also common in programming magazines: while the printed version had the code explained, the disk had the code ready to be compiled without forcing the reader to type the whole listing into the computer by hand.
In other places, such as Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, covermounts on computer magazines never caught on. Instead, popular Finnish magazines such as MikroBitti
MikroBitti
MikroBitti is a Finnish computer magazine, founded in May 1984 and published by Sanoma Magazines, a division of the Sanoma Group. MikroBitti is aimed mainly for beginner to mid-level computer users...
offered subscribers access to an exclusive BBS
Bulletin board system
A Bulletin Board System, or BBS, is a computer system running software that allows users to connect and log in to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, a user can perform functions such as uploading and downloading software and data, reading news and bulletins, and exchanging...
via modem, and later via the World Wide Web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
.
Adding audiovisual media as a covermount has started with music magazine
Music magazine
A music magazine is a magazine dedicated to music and music culture. Such magazines typically include music news, interviews, photo shoots, essays, record reviews, concert reviews and occasionally have a covermount with recorded music.-Notable music magazines:...
s adding covermounts in the form of sampler for promotional uses, using compact cassette
Compact Cassette
The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...
s as a storage medium. The cassette was in the end replaced by the compact disc.
Later, film magazines have started to include film trailers and occasionally complete film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s to their print media. First VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
cassettes were added, later followed by the DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
.
Apart from magazines also newspapers have discovered the covermount and started to add compact discs to their publications.
Magazines are also including non-storage media like toys, games, stationery sets, make up, cross stitch kits and whatever the publisher believes will help the sales of their titles.
In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, many television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
-related "partware" magazines (magazines aimed at collectors which build up to a complete set over months or years) have been launched in recent years, with covermounts containing episodes of the subject show (such as Dad's Army
Dad's Army
Dad's Army is a British sitcom about the Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and broadcast on BBC television between 1968 and 1977. The series ran for 9 series and 80 episodes in total, plus a radio series, a feature film and a stage show...
, Stargate SG-1
Stargate SG-1
Stargate SG-1 is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate franchise. The show, created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, is based on the 1994 feature film Stargate by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich...
or The Prisoner
The Prisoner
The Prisoner is a 17-episode British television series first broadcast in the UK from 29 September 1967 to 1 February 1968. Starring and co-created by Patrick McGoohan, it combined spy fiction with elements of science fiction, allegory and psychological drama.The series follows a British former...
).
American musician Prince
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
is known for offering studio albums free with various newspaper publications. His 2007 album Planet Earth
Planet Earth (album)
Planet Earth is the twenty-fifth studio album by American musician Prince, first released July 15, 2007 in the UK as a free covermount with The Mail on Sunday national newspaper. This was followed by the album's worldwide distribution...
was the first to be given this treatment, in the United Kingdom, in partnership with The Mail on Sunday
The Mail on Sunday
The Mail on Sunday is a British conservative newspaper, currently published in a tabloid format. First published in 1982 by Lord Rothermere, it became Britain's biggest-selling Sunday newspaper following the closing of The News of the World in July 2011...
. His new album 20Ten
20Ten
20Ten is the thirty-fifth studio album by American musician Prince. It was released on July 10, 2010 by NPG Records as a free covermount with the Daily Mirror and Daily Record in the UK and Ireland, and Het Nieuwsblad and De Gentenaar in Belgium. It was also released on July 22, 2010 with Rolling...
was released in 2010, in Belgium, under the same circumstances, with the same happening for the album with other publications across Europe. Pop rock band McFly
McFly
McFly are an English pop rock band who first found fame in 2004. The band consists of Tom Fletcher , Danny Jones , Dougie Poynter and Harry Judd . They were signed to the Island Records label from their 2004 launch until December 2007, before creating their own label, Super Records...
too released a covermount album, which was Radio:Active
Radio:Active
Radio:ACTIVE is the fourth studio album by English pop punk boyband McFly, which also is the band's first under their new, self created label, Super Records after leaving Island Records. The first single from the album is "One for the Radio". "Lies", one of the tracks from the deluxe edition of...
(their fourth studio album). Other artists known to release covermount albums are UB40
TwentyFourSeven (UB40 Album)
TwentyFourSeven is a studio album by reggae band UB40, their last to feature original members Ali Campbell and keyboardist Michael Virtue."Twentyfourseven" was released as a free insert in The Mail on Sunday's 4 May 2008 issue.[12] which sold nearly three million copies...
, Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
, Calvin Harris
Calvin Harris
Calvin Harris is a Scottish singer-songwriter, record producer and DJ. His gold-selling debut album, I Created Disco, was released in 2007 and contained the top ten singles "Acceptable in the 80s" and "The Girls"...
and Soulwax
Soulwax
Soulwax, headed by David and Stephen Dewaele, are an alternative rock/electronic band from Ghent, Belgium. Next to the Dewaele brothers, Soulwax consists of bassist Stefaan Van Leuven and drummer Steve Slingeneyer. They were first noticed after the release of their album Much Against Everyone's...
. In April 2007, EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
licensed the Mail on Sunday to cover-mount 2.25 million copies of Mike Oldfield
Mike Oldfield
Michael Gordon Oldfield is an English multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, working a style that blends progressive rock, folk, ethnic or world music, classical music, electronic music, New Age, and more recently, dance. His music is often elaborate and complex in nature...
's Tubular Bells
Tubular Bells
Tubular Bells is the debut record album of English musician Mike Oldfield, released in 1973. It was the first album released by Virgin Records and an early cornerstone of the company's success...
shortly before the rights on it were due to revert back to him, something about which the artist was not best pleased.
Demo covermount discs
Amiga Format
Amiga Format was a British computer magazine for Amiga computers, published by Future Publishing. The magazine lasted 136 issues from 1989 to 2000. The magazine was formed when, in the wake of selling ACE to EMAP, Future split the dual-format title ST/Amiga Format into two separate publications...
or ST Format
ST Format
ST Format was a computer magazine in the UK covering the Atari ST during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Like other members of the Future Publishing Format stable - PC Format and Amiga Format, for instance, it combined software and hardware reviews with columnists, letters pages and a cover...
had one or more floppy disks with demos of upcoming games, but the fragility of the media and the increasing size of demos made publishers turn to compact discs, which were cheaper to produce, more resistant to damage, and had over 300 times more capacity. CDs remain the most common storage media, but in the past several years, demos have grown from mere 50MB files to 500MB or larger. This discourages magazines from distributing most of the larger demos, unless the magazine has an exclusive distribution agreement or the title is highly anticipated. While in 1997 a CD could carry over 15 demos, in 2005 the typical CD has 5 or fewer. This has led some magazines to insert a second CD, or to use DVD media instead.
Covermounts came late to the world of video game console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
publications. Since nearly all 8-bit and 16-bit consoles were cartridge-based (with the exceptions of Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
's Mega CD and NEC's PC Engine CD), covermount demos only began appearing in 1996, with the official Sega and PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
magazines.
Full product covermount discs
The trend of offering full versions appeared in the mid-80s, when magazines such as Your SinclairYour Sinclair
Your Sinclair or YS as it was commonly abbreviated, was a British computer magazine for the Sinclair range of computers, mainly the ZX Spectrum.-History:...
and Amstrad Action put full versions of software, usually games on their covertapes. These games, provided by distributors from a list of games with lesser commercial value, are also often found in budget range
Budget range
Budget range is the name given to software that are sold for a fraction of a regular product price...
labels, and can range from older but highly regarded titles to unknown titles with little shelf space. As access to internet gaming websites such as GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
or IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
grew, so did the importance of having a strong covermount. Others, like PC Format
PC Format
PC Format is a computer magazine published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing, and licensed to other publishers in countries around the world. In publication since 1991, it is part of Future Publishing's Format series of magazines that include articles about games, entertainment and how to...
used to distribute full versions of unknown commercial software, with a beginners' guide in the printed version.
More notably, Sensible Software
Sensible Software
Sensible Software was a software house active during the 1980s and 90s, from the United Kingdom.The company was well-known for the very small sprites used for the player characters in many of their games, including Sensible Soccer, Cannon Fodder and Sensible Golf.- Early history :Sensible Software...
made several games for distribution with Amiga Power
Amiga Power
Amiga Power was a monthly magazine about Amiga computer games. It was published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing, and ran for 65 issues, from May 1991 to September 1996....
, like Sensible Massacre (uses Sensible Soccer
Sensible Soccer
Sensible Soccer, often affectionately known as Sensi, is an association football video game series which was highly popular in the early 1990s and which still retains a cult following...
graphics, where the player throws grenades at Dutch players, following the loss of England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
against the Dutch in the USA'94 qualifiers) or Sensible Train Spotting
Sensible Train Spotting
Sensible Train Spotting is a video game by Sensible Software for the Amiga computer. It is Sensible Software's last ever Amiga game and was available only on an Amiga Power cover disk from issue 53, dated September 1995...
(related to the hobby
Railfan
A railfan or rail buff , railway enthusiast or railway buff , or trainspotter , is a person interested in a recreational capacity in rail transport...
), the last game developed by the company for the Commodore Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
.
Games redistributed by covermount occasionally have problems if the originals were fitted with copy protection
Copy protection
Copy protection, also known as content protection, copy obstruction, copy prevention and copy restriction, refer to techniques used for preventing the reproduction of software, films, music, and other media, usually for copyright reasons.- Terminology :Media corporations have always used the term...
measures. If a buyer tries to apply a patch or update, there is a high chance of the game not recognizing a covermount CD, as they are often reprints and lack the copy prevention sectors.
Software publishers, both then and now, are often against the overuse of putting software on the covers of magazines as they see it is deflating the value of software.
Price of covermount storage media
Although tagged as "free", covermount discs sometimes increase the price of a magazine. Magazines that carry discs can cost as much as double the price of other magazines without them, even if these magazines have more pages. The "free" label serves as a dissuading factor in retailers stripping discs and selling them separately. To prevent theft of the discs from the magazine covers, retailers sometimes remove the discs anyway, keeping them behind the counter to be given to a customer upon purchase of the magazine.Problems with covermounted products
Software added as covermount to computer magazines may sometimes not be secure. A fast-spreading medium, computer magazines can output over 10,000 discs in a matter of days. In the days before internetInternet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
connections were commonplace, one of the fastest methods by which a computer virus
Computer virus
A computer virus is a computer program that can replicate itself and spread from one computer to another. The term "virus" is also commonly but erroneously used to refer to other types of malware, including but not limited to adware and spyware programs that do not have the reproductive ability...
could spread was to be included inadvertently on a coverdisc. Although discs are thoroughly scanned and carefully assembled, there have been cases of discs being distributed with viruses, damaging the credibility and reputation of the magazine.
See also
- Disk magazineDisk magazineA disk magazine, colloquially known as a diskmag, is a magazine that is distributed in electronic form to be read using computers. These had some popularity in the 1980s and 1990s as periodicals distributed on floppy disk, hence their name...
(a magazine contained entirely on disk rather than a disk attached to a paper magazine)
Record company representative decries 'covermount culture', 29 June 2007, The Guardian