As a music fan or artist, you no doubt hear the term EP or LP all the time, but what do those letters actually mean?!
What is an EP?
An EP is somewhere between a single and the album. It includes a few songs but it is nowhere near as long as an album (LP). The average listening time for an EP today is about 20 to 30 minutes, although it was much shorter in the past. EPs are a great way for artists to release quality music faster, since they do not have to spend as much time making an EP than an album.
What Does EP Stand for?
EP is short for “Extended Play.” Although the word “extended” makes it sound as if it were longer than “long play”, it’s not.
The “extended” referred to a different speed that a vinyl record needed to be played. An EP needed to be played at 45 rpm. In recent years, digital music platforms like iTunes and Spotify refer to any collection of four to six songs as an EP.
What is an Album (LP)?
Albums or LPs are collections of many songs, usually eight or more, on one unit of sale. In the old days, an album meant a vinyl record album played at 33 1/3 rpm. Later on, it became a catch-all term for CDs or digital albums. There are many albums released that never appear on vinyl.
What Does LP Stand for?
LP stands for “Long Play”. Way before streaming and downloads, records came out in two formats – the single and the collection of songs or album. Since an album was longer than a single, it was called Long Play. Double LPs were two records of songs in one package.
How to get the funding you need to promote an Album
Recording an album can get expensive. If you need funding for your music and you already have at least 15k monthly listeners on Spotify you may be eligible for an advance of up to 8x your annual streaming income. Click here to learn more!
If thats not the right option for you, you may find an A&R that enjoys your music and you can sign a record contract and get an advance that way, you may be able to find some other external investors who believe in your music using a crowd funding for music service or you can use savings from other music, gigs or your day job.
How to promote an EP
There are many music promotion tools and resources here on Soundplate!
Check out Soundplate Clicks our tool for creating smart links, pre-save campaigns and much more!