An EP, short for extended play, is a music release that is longer than a single and shorter than an album. Most EPs have 4 to 6 songs and run under 30 minutes. Streaming services label a release as a single, EP or album by counting its tracks and adding up its total length.
What is an EP in music?
An EP gives an artist room to show a sound or an idea across a handful of songs, without the time and cost of a full album. That is why you see so many EPs in electronic, hip-hop and indie music, where artists release often.
The name comes from vinyl. A standard single on a 7-inch record held one song per side. An "extended play" record on the same size of vinyl fit more music, so artists could put a few songs on one record at a lower price than an LP. The word stuck, and when music moved online it stayed as the label for a short project.
Today the term describes length more than the physical format, and a digital EP has no record to press at all. Whether you upload to SoundCloud, Spotify or Apple Music, a short collection of songs that sits between a single and an album is an EP.
How many songs are on an EP?
Most EPs have 4 to 6 songs. That range is also what the biggest streaming stores use. TuneCore's help center says Spotify treats a release with four to six tracks and under 30 minutes as an EP. On iTunes, an EP is either 4 to 6 tracks with a total under 30 minutes, or 1 to 3 tracks where at least one track runs 10 minutes or longer and the whole release is still under 30 minutes.
That also answers how long an EP is. The cap is 30 minutes in total. A release with 4 to 6 songs that runs past 30 minutes is treated as an album by these stores.
Distributors are not fully uniform, so the exact label can differ from one store to the next. RouteNote counts 2 to 6 tracks as an EP and says lengths vary between stores and distributors. The stores make the final call after you deliver the release, and you usually cannot pick the format yourself.
EP vs album vs single: how they compare
The table below uses the common store rules. Treat the numbers as a guide, since a long track or a long total runtime can move a release into a different group.
Music release formats at a glance
| Format | Typical track count | Typical length | Main purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single | 1-3 tracks | Each track under 10 minutes, total under 30 minutes | Introducing a new sound, building hype for a bigger project |
| EP | 4-6 tracks | Under 30 minutes in total | A focused project, testing a style, bridging two albums |
| Album (LP) | 7+ tracks | Over 30 minutes in total, or 7+ tracks at any length | A full artistic statement |
The single is where most releases start. If you want to plan the run-up to a single or an EP, our guides on pre-saving on Spotify and on Release Radar explain how fans and the algorithm pick up new music in the first days.
How many songs are on an album?
Stores call a release an album once it has 7 or more tracks, or once it runs past 30 minutes in total. That second rule matters. A six-track project with long songs can be labeled an album even though the track count looks like an EP.
So if you want a release to be listed as an EP, count the minutes as well as the songs. Staying at 6 tracks or fewer and under 30 minutes keeps you inside the EP range on both Spotify and iTunes.
Apple is a little different from Spotify on one point. A release of one to three tracks with a single long track can count as an EP on iTunes. Spotify looks at the track count and the total time instead.
EP vs LP: what the vinyl terms mean today
LP stands for long play. On vinyl it was the 12-inch record that held a full album. An EP was the shorter extended-play record that held more than a single. In streaming, both terms now map to the track and length rules above, so an LP is simply an album.
What is a mixtape?
A mixtape is an informal collection of songs, often released to build buzz, and it may include remixes, freestyles or early ideas. Stores do not have a separate format for mixtapes, so a mixtape uploaded to a store is labeled by its track count and length like any other release.
Why artists release an EP instead of an album
An EP costs less and takes less time to finish than an album, so an artist can release a complete project sooner. That lets them keep music in front of listeners instead of going quiet for a year while an album gets made.
It is also a good way to test a sound. If listeners respond to the EP, the artist knows what to build on for the album. If they do not, only a few songs went into the experiment.
An EP also gives you more to promote than one track. You can release the lead song first, then the full project a couple of weeks later, which creates two moments for fans to find the music instead of one.
How to release and premiere an EP
I have run the techno label Märked for 10 years and put out about 50 releases, so I have planned a lot of release rollouts. A simple plan for an EP looks like this:
- Pick the strongest track as the lead and set a date for the full EP, ideally two to three weeks later.
- Send the lead track to a SoundCloud channel for a premiere. A premiere on an established channel puts the track in front of an audience that already follows that channel. Our guide to the SoundCloud premiere channel explains how this works from the curator side.
- Offer one other track as a free download in exchange for a follow or an email. A download gate turns a listen into a fan you can reach again. Gating the whole EP is a big ask, so one track is enough.
- Drop the full EP on the date you announced and link to it from the gated track. Post about the release on the days in between, so fans who found the premiere have a reason to come back for the rest.
Some SoundCloud channels take premiere bookings and payment through Premierely, a premiere booking system for music curators, so you can book a premiere without sending direct messages back and forth. When you submit an EP, keep the files ready for every track: WAV files, artwork and the exact track order.
EP questions answered
What does EP stand for?
EP stands for extended play. The name goes back to vinyl records that held more music than a single but less than a full album.
How do digital distributors define an EP?
Distributors follow the rules of the stores they deliver to. For Spotify and iTunes that means 4 to 6 tracks and under 30 minutes, with an extra iTunes rule for 1 to 3 tracks when one of them runs 10 minutes or longer. The store assigns the format, and TuneCore notes that it does not have a separate EP product at all.
Can an EP have 7 songs?
On most stores, no. Seven or more tracks puts a release in the album category even if the songs are short. Some artists still call a 7-track project an EP, which is fine in conversation, but the store label will say album.
Can I premiere just one track from an EP?
Yes, and it is one of the best ways to launch an EP. Premiering the lead track a week or two before the full project gives you a first moment of attention and a second one when the EP drops.
What is the best way to use a download gate with an EP?
Gate one or two of the strongest tracks and keep the rest of the project free to stream. Ask for a follow, a repost or an email in exchange for the download, and put the link to the full EP stream in the description of the gated track.
How long is an EP?
Up to 30 minutes in total. Most EPs have 4 to 6 songs, so the songs average a few minutes each. Once a release goes past 30 minutes, Spotify and iTunes list it as an album.
