Extended play

An extended play (EP) is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album.^[1] Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 15 to 30 minutes.^[7] An EP is usually less cohesive than an album and more "non-committal".^[8]

An extended play (EP) originally referred to a specific type of 45 rpm phonograph record other than 78 rpm standard play (SP) and 33 rpm long play (LP),^[9] but as of 2025^[update], also applies to mid-length CDs and downloads.^[10] EPs are considered "less expensive and time-consuming" for an artist to produce than an album, and have long been popular with punk and indie bands.^[1]^[11] In K-pop and J-pop, they are usually referred to as mini-albums.^[1]

^ ^a ^b ^c Fuhr, Michael (2015). Globalization and Popular Music in South Korea: Sounding Out K-Pop. Routledge. ISBN 9781317556909. Retrieved March 21, 2017. Mini-albums and EPs are shorter than full-length albums and usually contain four or five songs [...] They are less expensive and time-consuming in production than albums, and they help to popularize new groups who otherwise lack the number of songs required for a full-length album.
^ Cite error: The named reference Definition - Billboard, etc. was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "EP's, LP's, Albums and Mixtapes". Marshall.com. Archived from the original on 2023-02-02. Retrieved 2004-01-01.
^ "What is the difference between a Single, an EP, and an Album?". TuneCore.
^ "Albums vs EPs vs Singles: A Guide to Releasing Music in 2024". Ditto Music.
^ "What Is An EP In Music? ( Examples, # of Songs, vs. LP )". 2023-07-07. Retrieved 2024-01-01.
^ ^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]
^ "Was Ist Eine EP, Single Oder Ein Album?" (in German). iMusician. An EP stands for "Extended Play" and refers to a music recording that is longer than a single but contains fewer tracks than an album or LP. Nowadays, EPs contain around 4–5 songs and are considered a more cost-effective ... way of producing and releasing music compared to an album. Additionally, an EP tends to be less cohesive and more non-committal...
^ Maes, Jan; Vercammen, Marc (2001). Digital Audio Technology: A Guide to CD, MiniDisc, SACD, DVD(A), MP3 and DAT (4th ed.). Focal Press. p. 2. ISBN 9780240516547. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
^ Malcolm Tatum (12 May 2023). "What Is an Extended Play?". Wisegeek.
^ Cite error: The named reference Chattanooga Times Free Press 2010-01-04 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Fuhr-1] Fuhr, Michael (2015). Globalization and Popular Music in South Korea: Sounding Out K-Pop. Routledge. ISBN 9781317556909. Retrieved March 21, 2017. Mini-albums and EPs are shorter than full-length albums and usually contain four or five songs [...] They are less expensive and time-consuming in production than albums, and they help to popularize new groups who otherwise lack the number of songs required for a full-length album.

[Definition_-_Billboard,_etc.-2] Cite error: The named reference Definition - Billboard, etc. was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[3] "EP's, LP's, Albums and Mixtapes". Marshall.com. Archived from the original on 2023-02-02. Retrieved 2004-01-01.

[4] "What is the difference between a Single, an EP, and an Album?". TuneCore.

[5] "Albums vs EPs vs Singles: A Guide to Releasing Music in 2024". Ditto Music.

[6] "What Is An EP In Music? ( Examples, # of Songs, vs. LP )". 2023-07-07. Retrieved 2024-01-01.

[7] [2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]

[iMusician-8] "Was Ist Eine EP, Single Oder Ein Album?" (in German). iMusician. An EP stands for "Extended Play" and refers to a music recording that is longer than a single but contains fewer tracks than an album or LP. Nowadays, EPs contain around 4–5 songs and are considered a more cost-effective ... way of producing and releasing music compared to an album. Additionally, an EP tends to be less cohesive and more non-committal...

[9] Maes, Jan; Vercammen, Marc (2001). Digital Audio Technology: A Guide to CD, MiniDisc, SACD, DVD(A), MP3 and DAT (4th ed.). Focal Press. p. 2. ISBN 9780240516547. Retrieved June 20, 2014.

[10] Malcolm Tatum (12 May 2023). "What Is an Extended Play?". Wisegeek.

[Chattanooga_Times_Free_Press_2010-01-04-11] Cite error: The named reference Chattanooga Times Free Press 2010-01-04 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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