An Extended play (EP) is a vinyl record or CD which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as an LP. A gramophone A Compact Disc (also known as a CD) is an Optical disc used to store digital data, originally developed for storing digital audio Long play (LP record albums are 33⅓  Rpm vinyl Gramophone records (phonograph records generally either 10- or 12- Inches in diameter Usually, an EP has around 10–20 minutes of music, a single has up to 10 minutes, and an album has 30–80 minutes. Mini-LPs generally contain 20-30 minutes of music. ^[1] In the United Kingdom, the Official Chart Company defines a cut off between EP and album classification at 25 minutes length or 4 tracks (plus alternative versions of featured songs). The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The Official UK Charts Company ( OCC) previously called the Chart Information Network ( CIN) compiles various "official" UK record charts ^[2][3]

History

EPs were released in various sizes in different eras. In the 1950s and 1960s, EPs were introduced as compilations or album samplers and were typically played at 33⅓ rpm recordings on 7 in (18cm) discs, with two songs on each side. A centimetre ( American spelling: centimeter, symbol cm) is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to one hundredth ^[1]

However, some classical music albums released at the beginning of the LP era were also distributed as EP albums — notably the seven operas that Arturo Toscanini conducted on radio between 1944 and 1954. Classical music is a broad term that usually refers to mainstream music produced in or rooted in the traditions of Western liturgical and Secular music Long play (LP record albums are 33⅓  Rpm vinyl Gramophone records (phonograph records generally either 10- or 12- Inches in diameter WikipediaWikiProject Classical music#Biographical_infoboxes --> Arturo Toscanini (ɑrˈturɔ ˌtɔskɑˈnini (March 25 1867 &ndash January Radio is the transmission of signals by Modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible Light. These operas, originally broadcast on NBC radio, were made available both in 45 RPM and 33⅓ RPM. The National Broadcasting Company ( NBC) is an American Television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's In the 1990s, they began appearing on compact disc.

During the 1950s, RCA Victor released several EP albums of Walt Disney films, containing both the story and songs. Events Films of the 1950s were of a wide variety As a result of Television, the studios and companies sought to put audiences back in theaters RCA Records (originally The Victor Talking Machine Company, then RCA Victor is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. Walter Elias Disney (December 5 1901 – December 15 1966 was a multiple Academy Award -winning American Film producer, director, Screenwriter These usually featured the original casts of the films. Each album contained two records, plus a fully illustrated booklet containing the complete text of the recording, so that children could follow along. Some of the titles included Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio and what was then a recent release, the 1954 version of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a 1937 American film based on the eponymous German fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. Pinocchio is the second Animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics. The year 1954 in film involved some significant events Events May 12 - The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx 20000 Leagues Under the Sea is a 1954 film starring Kirk Douglas as Ned Land James Mason as Captain Nemo, Paul Lukas The case of 20,000 Leagues was highly unusual in that, not only did it not use the film's cast but years later, a 12-inch 33⅓ RPM album of the film, with nearly the identical script and yet another totally different cast, was issued by Disneyland Records in conjunction with the 1963 re-release of the film. Disneyland Records is the original name of the The Walt Disney Company 's Record company. The year 1963 in film involved some significant events Events January 28 - Filming begins on Dr

In 1967, The Beatles released a double-EP containing songs from their TV film Magical Mystery Tour. The year 1967 was an important year for Psychedelic rock, with releases from The Beatles ( Sgt The Beatles were a pop and rock band from Liverpool, England formed in 1960 Magical Mystery Tour is an hour-long television film starring The Beatles ( John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison Stevie Wonder included a bonus 4-song EP in his 1976 double LP Songs in the Key of Life. Stevie Wonder (born Stevland Hardaway Judkins on May 13 1950 name later changed to Stevland Hardaway Morris) is an Songs in the Key of Life is an album by Stevie Wonder, released on Motown on September 28, 1976 (see 1976 in music In the 1970s and 1980s there was less standardization and EPs were made on 7 in (18cm), 10 in or 12 in (30cm) discs running either 33⅓ or 45 rpm. Standardization (or standardisation) is the process of developing and agreeing upon technical standards. Some novelty EPs used odd shapes and colors and a few were picture discs. A novelty song is a silly or nonsensical Song, performed principally for its comical effect. The overwhelming majority of records manufactured have been of certain sizes (7 10 or 12 inches playback speeds (33⅓ 45 or 78 RPM and appearance (round black discs

Alice in Chains is the first band to ever have an EP reach #1 on Billboard album chart. Alice in Chains is an American rock band formed in Seattle Washington in See Billboard (Turkish magazine Billboard is a weekly American Magazine devoted to the Music industry The EP, Jar of Flies was released January 25, 1994. Jar of Flies is a studio EP, released on January 25, 1994, by the Seattle, Washington grunge band Alice Events 41 - After a night of negotiation Claudius is accepted as Roman Emperor by the Senate Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar) Linkin Park and Jay-Z's collaboration EP, Collision Course, was the next and latest to have reached the #1 spot after Alice in Chains. Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4 1969 better known as Jay-Z, is an American Rapper and former CEO of Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Collision Course is a CD / DVD set released on November 30, 2004 by Jay-Z & Linkin Park.

Defining "EP"

The first EPs were 7-inch vinyl records with twice the number of tracks (i. e. four) as a normal single, and were generally given a title, as opposed to being named after a lead track. ^[1] Examples include The Beatles' The Beatles Hits EP from 1963, and The Troggs' Troggs Tops EP from 1966, both of which collected previously-released tracks. The Beatles were a pop and rock band from Liverpool, England formed in 1960 The Troggs are an English rock band from the 1960s that had a number of hits in Britain and the USA, including their most famous song " ^[1] The playing time was generally between 10 and 15 minutes. ^[1] These fell out of favor, but regained popularity in the punk era, when they became commonly used for the release of new material, e. g. Buzzcocks' Spiral Scratch EP, which featured four tracks. Buzzcocks are an English Punk rock band formed in Manchester in 1975 ^[1] The 12-inch single was introduced in 1977, and commonly had extended or additional tracks compared to the 7-inch release. 12-inch EPs were similar, but generally had between 3 and 5 tracks and had a length of over 12 minutes, and like 7-inch EPs were given titles. ^[1] EP releases were also issued in cassette and 10-inch vinyl format. ^[1] With the advent of the Compact disc, more music was often included on 'single' releases, with 4 or 5 tracks being common, and playing times of up to 25 minutes. A Compact Disc (also known as a CD) is an Optical disc used to store digital data, originally developed for storing digital audio ^[1]

In the UK, a release with more than four distinct tracks or with a playing time of more than 25 minutes is classified as an album for chart purposes. ^[3]

Anomalies

The Mars Volta ran into problems with their five-track album Frances the Mute before its release; the final 32-minute track, "Cassandra Gemini", was divided into eight semi-arbitrary sections so the band would be paid an album's wages rather than an EPs. The Mars Volta is the name of a partnership between guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López and singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala founded in 2001 Frances the Mute is the second studio album by Progressive rock band The Mars Volta released in the US on March 1, 2005 Autechre decided to name one of their releases EP7 even though it contained 11 tracks and was over an hour long. Autechre are an English Electronic music group consisting of Rob Brown and Sean Booth both natives of Rochdale, England. EP7 is the CD version of a 1999 EP by the Electronic music group Autechre (also as two separate vinyl EPs EP7 On the other hand, Weezer's The Green Album is not considered an EP even though it falls short of half an hour. Weezer (ˈwizɚ is an American Alternative rock band from Los Angeles California formed in 1992 Weezer is the third album by the American Alternative rock band Weezer.

Some artists, especially in the days of vinyl, have released full-length albums that could fit the definition of a modern-day EP. Conversely, there are EPs that are long enough to be albums. Marilyn Manson's Smells Like Children for example, which is 54 minutes long and Estradasphere's The Silent Elk of Yesterday clocks in at 74 minutes, as does Harbinger of Metal by Reverend Bizarre. Marilyn Manson is an American Alternative metal band based in Los Angeles California. Smells Like Children is a 1995 EP Remix album by band Marilyn Manson. Estradasphere is an experimental band that originated in Santa Cruz California during the late 1990s The Silent Elk of Yesterday is an EP by Estradasphere, released in 2001 Harbinger of Metal is a 74-minute EP by Finnish Doom metal band Reverend Bizarre that was released in 2003 Reverend Bizarre was a Doom metal band from Finland. They played slow and heavy traditional doom with dramatic vocals following in the footsteps of bands such This is particularly the case with the rare double EP, which contains two discs. A double Extended play ( double EP) is the name typically given to Vinyl records or CDs released as a set of two discs each of which would

There are also some EPs which are even shorter than the standard single. It has become customary in recent years for new bands to release their first release nominally as an "EP" to give it grander connotations than a single. By giving the release a unique name (as opposed to it being named after the lead track on the CD) the band can garner more attention for the other tracks on the CD. Using the example of Arctic Monkeys, by calling their first release Five Minutes With Arctic Monkeys rather than Fake Tales of San Francisco (the first track on the CD) they also put the second track "From The Ritz to the Rubble" in the limelight. Arctic Monkeys are a British Indie band from High Green, a suburb of Sheffield. Five Minutes with Arctic Monkeys is the debut EP by Sheffield band Arctic Monkeys. " Fake Tales of San Francisco " is a song by Arctic Monkeys originally released on the band's first EP Five Minutes with Arctic Monkeys Thus, Five Minutes With Arctic Monkeys is more akin to a double-A side than a standard EP. A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of 7 inch Vinyl records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s Subsequently, similar releases by other new bands could be described as "triple-A sides" or even "quadruple-A sides".

The 7-inch EP in punk rock

The first recordings released by many punk rock bands were released in 7-inch EP format, mainly because the short song nature of the genre made it difficult to create sufficient material to fill an LP. A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other Many such bands also were unsigned, or signed to a minor record label that did not have the funds to release a full length album, particularly by newly formed bands. As many record stores would not sell demo tapes, the 7-inch EP became a standard release for punk rock bands, who could sell them cheaply nationwide, and thus be heard beyond the areas where they performed. A demo version or demo of a song (shortened from the word "demonstration" is one recorded for reference rather than for release These records would vary in length, having anywhere from 2 to as many as 10 or more songs (4 being somewhat of a standard), and occasionally recorded at 33 rpm to lengthen running time (outside of punk rock many people refer to any 7-inch record as a "45", as it has been the standard speed for such records). Some of these recordings would qualify as singles, although this term was sometimes eschewed as being a mainstream design for determining commercial airplay, which did not apply to the vast majority of such bands. The term "single" also had a way of being somewhat dismissive of any tracks other than the primary one, relegating them to B-sides, when many bands, having a 7-inch record as their most significant release, would put all their best songs on the recording. A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of 7 inch Vinyl records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s Using the term EP in such cases would be considered technically incorrect, as they were not "extended", and the term "7-inch" became a standard. For bands that went on to achieve commercial success, it was often customary for the original EP tracks to be released later on full-length albums, or to be somehow re-issued in another format.

The split 7-inch EP has also been a widespread feature in the genre, in which two bands would release such a record together, each performing on one side. This was a way to cut costs, particularly for self-released EPs, and was often used as a way for a more established band to help promote a promising newer act. Alternately, two bands with friendly relations with each other would release split EPs together. In some countries, split EPs are also used by major record labels to promote two new albums by wholly different artists, usually in the form of radio promos.

In cases where a band has too much content to fit on a 7-inch platter, but not enough for an LP, 10-inch and 12-inch records were utilized, usually at the 45 rpm speed more popular among dance music. Some more modern punk bands have also put out novelty 5-inch records, though due to a very short playing time and higher production cost than 7-inch discs, they are rare and usually utilized by bands with extremely fast songs.

Jukebox EP

In the 1960s and 1970s, record companies released EP versions of long play (LP) albums for use in jukeboxes. jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device usually a Coin -operated machine that can play specially selected songs from self-contained media These were commonly known as "compact 33s" or "little LPs". They played at 33⅓ rpm and were pressed on 7-inch vinyl. What made them EP-like was the fact that some songs were omitted for time purposes, and the tracks deemed the most popular were left on.

See also

• Concept EP
• Double EP
• Extra Long Play (VCR format)
• Gramophone record
• Long Play

References