Given the volume in which music is being released, artistes typically release exclusive content as part of a mixtape, EP or Album. This week we take a look at the difference between each.

The term EP, stands for Extended Playlist or just Extended Play— a project (or body of work) too short to be an album but more than one song.

An EP is considered 1-3 songs with at least 10 minutes in length or running time.

For example, Koffee’s Grammy-winning project-“Rapture,” had five tracks and thus couldn’t be considered an album per se due to its limited number of songs and run time(15 minutes), hence its EP categorisation.

An EP can also be used as a prequel to an album ( eg, Teejay’s “I Am Chippy EP“). These projects can also be sold — at a reduced price than an album.

EP’s have proven to be successful marketing and sales tools for some artistes and brands to not only supply fans with music but also gauge demand for the act and type of content that works.

A billboard article describes these releases as “Short Albums‘ and “A rare Music Business success story.”

The only terms that can be used interchangeably are Album and LP as they are the same. LP stands for Long Play which is, in essence, a full-length album.

A compilation can be considered an album if it’s 6 or more songs running over 30 minutes in length and is considered to be one product, as Per Landr.

Albums of recorded music were developed in the early 20th century, first as books of individual records, then from 1948 as vinyl LP records…” as per Medium.

A Mixtape, however, could be considered an album/ EP (in terms of length or run time). However, it is typically released for promotional purposes and not necessarily for profit, especially for unsigned or upcoming acts.

However, for established artistes, especially in hip-hop, mixtapes are seen as unofficial albums in the absence of an actual project. For Instance, French Montana‘s Mac & Cheese series and Spice’s “Captured” mixtape.