I was once a full-time musician, playing drums in metal, punk, and hardcore bands. We would spend countless hours writing music that cost us hundreds (sometimes thousands) of dollars to record. But with no design skills, and all of our funds spent on studio time, we had nothing left for covers/inserts. I wanted to change that.
This was the 90s, so design equipment wasn’t as accessible as it is now. But my roommate worked at a Mac store and gave me an old Mac so I could learn. I taught myself design and learned about the printing process. This helped us package our music with as much integrity as we put into the songs. It also launched my career in design.