Music streaming is a disservice to album art
I collect vinyl records and, more recently, CDs. I like listening to them and I also like looking at them. I also stream a lot of music on Spotify.
Spotify displays album covers, but they lack the surface area of physical copies. Records sleeves and CD cases have a front and back, that's twice the room for artwork! Plus, lots of records include fold-out posters, and CD cases tend to have little booklets inside, filled with more photography and art. Then, there are the discs themselves, which contain even more designs on their labels. Vinyl discs can even be made in different colors and patterns.
Music artists can use all these different facets of physical music to creatively express themselves. With streaming, all that's offered is a small square for the album cover. Maybe it’s a bigger square, if you're listening on your TV or PC. A few years ago, the streaming platforms also added the ability to watch short music video snippets while you listen, which is admittedly pretty cool. I suppose artists now also use social media to provide fans with more content aside from the music. But, an Instagram post still isn’t something you can fold out and pin to your bedroom wall.
P.S. Here's a fun throwback to Steve Jobs showing off the Sgt. Pepper's album art during the original iPhone demo in 2007.