Which Album Format Is Right For Me? LP, EP, and Single: What's the Difference?
What is the reason for all the different album formats? There are different reasons why artists use different album formats, which can be challenging to explain.
Albums were popularized only in the 1950s when Americans became able to afford record players.
The physical limitations of vinyl records were the reason for album releases fitting into a specific timeframe and consisting of two "sides."
Even when these limitations are no longer relevant, the album format and its variants continue even as the digital download has become the norm.
There are many forms albums can take to communicate to consumers who a release is for and how it should be heard.
We should explore the history of album formats and understand how they relate to contemporary musical practice, both as a means of expressing artistic expression and as a means of framing the promotion of a release.
Exactly what is an album?
The term 'album' is used to refer to a collection of songs in music, consisting of a side A and side B from a vinyl long-playing record (LP).
The vinyl record was primarily a compilation of singles from different artists, or recordings of orchestras performing their repertoire before the standard album format.
Until bands like the Beatles created album formats and started recording collections of songs that were designed to fit into album formats and to be sold that way, the album format was virtually unknown.
An album can be classified into five major categories
Among music's most popular album formats are the LP, double LP, EP, single and mixtape.
1. The LP
Due to the 24 minute length of the original LP, an album would typically fall within that time frame.
Later on, however, technology made it possible to record each song for a little longer than 23 minutes.
Digital music also purged these barriers altogether, which added to the problem.
Despite the fact that 46 minutes is a short amount of time, artists were able to create magnificent masterpieces within it.
In the context of an album, an artist could convey a complete story and develop elements of sound in a significant way-and listeners found the track's length to be optimal for committing an entire evening to the experience.
It is for this reason that the original vinyl format is credited with starting the album era of music to this day-and why it is still the main format of major releases.
2. The Double LP
The album originally was a release featuring two vinyl records, which meant there were four sides to the album, which played for approximately 1 hour and 32 minutes.
Traditionally, double LPs are the magnum opus - or the greatest work - of an artist.
The 60s through the 80s marked a period in which a double LP release was considered a major release, containing the artist's best work.
There were several reasons for this, including the high cost of releasing a double LP and the time and effort it took to write and record a full hour of material.
Examples of iconic double LPs are Pink Floyd's Wall and the Beatles' The White Album, both of which were considered major releases and to be the peaks of artists' careers.
It's also common for double discs to contain compilations of greatest hits, especially when a posthumous release contains the entire discography of an artist.
3. The EP
A long-playing album typically consists of 4-5 tracks over a length of 25 to 30 minutes. An EP is shorter than an LP but longer than a two-sided single.
Because EPs were smaller and lighter than heavy vinyl LPs, they were cheaper to produce and ship.
Eventually, they gained popularity with punk and indie groups in the 1980s.
The EP release is most often used by up-and-coming artists who want to release something as soon as possible, but at a much lower price.
Those pieces served as good opportunities for artists to explore their sound more fully, without requiring them to write a lengthy, costly album.
The first release for many up-and-coming artists is an EP release, which will often be marketed as an artist's first step towards a bigger release later on. Music reviewers will tend to take a kinder view of EPs as opposed to singles.
4. The single
Single releases are undoubtedly one of the most important types of music releases, especially in the digital age.
Throughout history, artists' marketing strategies have always included the single.
Press and radio are able to promote and review an upcoming single in order to promote the release of an upcoming album.
Most often, an artist's best single release is his or her best single-or at least if the single is memorable and catchy.
Singles are considered to be the tracks that have the biggest appeal to the most people.
Songs should be short and fit into rotations on radio and playlists and shouldn't exceed 3:30 in length.
When vinyl was still in use, most singles had two sides - or two songs - because each record had two sides, so each single needed two songs.
In fact, single releases are more popular today than ever before thanks to digital distribution and algorithmic recommendations on streaming platforms-particularly in the hip-hop and electronic music scenes.
Since the producers in these genres are usually small, agile teams capable of producing tracks quickly, it makes sense that they are releasing single tracks constantly to attract fans and stream algorithms.
5. The Mixtape
It comes from the hip-hop scene during the cassette tape era, and this is an interesting album release format.
At the turn of the century, cassettes were the cheapest form of music distribution.
During ciphers, DJ nights, and rap concerts, rappers and producers would dub their tracks onto cassettes, which could be duplicated quickly and cheaply and sold or given away for free.
The mixtape offered a fresh, light-hearted, and affordable way to promote your music, whether you were marketing yourself as an upcoming rapper or promoting a release.
Mixtapes featuring a mish-mash of tracks are still very much associated with hip-hop culture, even with the digitization of music. Drake, Chance the Rapper, and Young Thug have all released digital mixtapes that were different from their more serious albums.
Mixtapes have the advantage that many people do not think they need to be curated or have any rules about how long they should be.
The term "dropping my mixtape" describes the sudden release of a collection of catchy and interesting songs without much fanfare-that's why it's done when artists release compilations of their songs.
Roll out your album format
There's always a learning curve associated with producing and releasing music. You are amazing just for completing writing, recording, producing, and completing the final result. Nice job!
If you want it to be an album, not an EP, call it an album. Don't get caught up in the details of what you're releasing.
With streaming platforms and digital media, music distribution has changed dramatically. Vinyl has less of an impact than it once did and its physical limitations have also shrunk drastically.
The format in which it will be released is entirely up to you - but you should include a single release in your promotion strategy.
Good luck with your next release, be it an album, EP, double LP, mixtape or single!
You can get worldwide distribution using AudioWundr Distribution if you are releasing music to streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music and beyond.