We are fans of the band called The Legendary Pink Dots (LPD), and our common interest is to share our personally designed covers to put inside CDR jewel cases. We don’t make the official LPD covers (yet ?!), but we home-make ours to accompany the LPD live recordings that we share through CD Trees.

This group was created on the 4rth of November, 2000.

You’ll know quite everything once you have visited http://www.brainwashed.com/lpd, where you’ll find complete dotsography, lyrics, interviews, pictures, and plenty of amazing things.

Usually it starts with someone who taped/recorded a live LPD concert (with their benediction). Then, once it is eventually processed, the CDR is proposed to everyone. Those interested get into the CD Tree, where those who can burn (the Branches) send copies to those who can’t (the Leaves), so that it spreads efficiently.

Of course, all of this is made without profit, as the Pink Dots kindly agree on simple trading. And also, it only concerns recorded shows, and not a single commercial album.

The lpdcoversmakers group uses two things : a mailing list hosted by eGroups.com, and a personal website (http://www.lpdcoversmakers.free.fr).

The list was set up to facilitate communication between users, as it allows easy email communication, file transfers, and polls. Thus, it is open to anyone who wants to participate.

The website is used as a gallery open to the outside, and can be used by non-members as well.

Images made available on the website are there for anyone's private/personal use. That is to say, you can freely download them and print them to make a CD cover without really being a member of the lpdcoversmakers.

You have to be a member if you want to submit your personal creations, if you want to communicate with other traders through the mailing list, and also if you want to read the list’s archives.

You can either go to http://www.egroups.com/group/lpdcoversmakers and subscribe there, or send an email to lpdcoversmakers-subscribe@egroups.com.

No, only for live recordings that people trade for free. But even if it is stated "CD", it also concerns tape covers, and more general artwork.

We can’t accept covers for commercial albums, copies of albums still in the market, bootlegs and anything that is asked for money when it doesn’t come from the band itself. In respect for the Legendary Pink Dots, and their own generosity.

For the moment, all contributions must be uploaded in the files section of our eGroups page. Go to http://www.egroups.com/group/lpdcoversmakers, and upload your file in the Files section. I will then put pictures on the website.

Don’t send anything by email please !

As we deal with pictures that will often be big, please follow the following advises :

- Post only JPEG files, as it is the most widespread compressed file format.

If you have made your covers with certain types of softwares (MS Publisher, etc…), you have to convert them to a JPEG file, don’t post the original file.

- The material you’ll use to make them is, of course, up to your imagination. It can include photography, paintings, drawings, collages, digital art, 3D, etc…

- But the final picture you send must be formatted to the size of a CD cover. Here are the dimensions to make a complete cover (with the front cover insert, and the back one inserted in the jewel case) :

- It is advised that you make the entire CD cover, that is : the front cover, eventually a two (or 4) pages booklet, and the back cover that will be inserted in the jewel case.

- You can put all texts needed on the cover (LPD name, title, place, date of the show, tracklist, etc...), and your contribution will then be focussed to a certain CD Tree. But you can submit a general picture without any album reference, so people can use it for their own convenience.

For each CD Tree, after an announced amount of time, and once enough contributions have been sent, a vote will be proposed to all members, to chose their preferred cover for this particular Tree. The vote will be processed through our eGroup poll function. Votes will be possible during a period of time announced by email. Once over, results will be sent to all members.

Winning the contest will not bring any reward gift; it is just to get a more precise idea of member's tastes, and of the talent of our members. All results will be placed in the contests archives.

To propose one's cover for the poll, it must include all the informative texts (place and date of concert, tracklist, and all available information…), as general pictures will be let to everyone's use for any other personal printing.

Well, most of the members are also part of the Cloud-Zero mailing list. There aren’t further links with their website yet tho, but it might come.

We didn’t ask them yet, but considering they allow simple trade of live recordings (and also allow people to record their shows as well, provided that they know it), it seems there is no reason why they would disagree with the idea.

As soon as we’ve made a bit more work, Edward Ka-Spel will be contacted to ask what he thinks about it.