RM - What is a Digipak

Digipaks typically consist of a gatefold (book-style) paperboard or card stock outer binding, with one or more plastic trays capable of holding a CD or DVD attached to the inside. Since Digipaks were among the first alternatives to jewel cases to be used by major record companies, and because there is no other common name for Digipak-style packaging made by other companies, the term digipak or Digi-Pak is often used generically, even when the media holder is a hub or "Soft Spot" rather than a full plastic tray.
Sourced: Wikipedia

Digipak-style packaging is often used for CD singles or special editions of CD albums. An example of this is the re-release of Nirvana's Nevermind which contains B sides, live recordings at the Paramount Theatre, O'Brien Pavilion, The Smart Studio Sessions, The Boombox Rehearsals and BBC Sessions as well as the original CD.

Re-release of Nirvana's Nevermind in
the form of a digipak (outside)

Re-release of Nirvana's Nevermind in
the form of a digipak (inside)

As digipaks are traditionally made from paper board or card stock this gives the product an environmental factor as it is seen as a more green product compared to the jewel case format.


There are several common conventions amongst digipaks which feature.

• Album Artwork is located on the first panel with the artist and album name
• Artwork is also featured inside the digipak
• Track listing which is normally on the back panel
• Lyric booklet or song information normally featuring photographs of the band
• Record Labels names, logos or both
• Details of the artist
• Small print with copyright information (Band's and Record Label's)
• Website of the artist and record labels
• Addresses of social network sites and user-generated content the band have an account for (twitter, facebook and youtube normally)
• E-mail address of artists and/or record labels
• Deluxe digipaks contain either a live or behind the scenes DVD or a CD either containing live performed songs or extra tracks
• Year of release
• Stickers (Normally saying "includes" then a list of singles that have been released from this album)
• Composers of the album (Normally saying whom play what instrument and wrote each song)
•  Barcode
• The CD(s) are located inside the digipak