Editing Extended play (section)

{{Short description|Musical recording longer than a single but shorter than a full album}}
{{About|the audio format}}
{{redirect|EP}}
{{Redirect|EPs||EPS (disambiguation)}}

[[File:Michael Nesmith EP.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Extended-play vinyl record of [[Michael Nesmith]]'s "I Fall to Pieces" with four tracks]]

An '''extended play''' ('''EP''') is a [[Sound recording and reproduction|musical recording]] that contains more tracks than a [[Single (music)|single]] but fewer than an [[album]].<ref name="Fuhr">{{cite book |title=Globalization and Popular Music in South Korea: Sounding Out K-Pop |last=Fuhr |first=Michael |year=2015 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UFHeCQAAQBAJ&pg=PT91 |access-date=March 21, 2017 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |quote=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.|isbn=9781317556909 }}</ref> Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 15 to 30 minutes.{{refn|<ref name="Definition - Billboard, etc." /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://marshall.com/live-for-music/moving-on-up/eps-lps-albums-and-mixtapes|title=EP's, LP's, Albums and Mixtapes|publisher=Marshall.com|language=en|url-status=dead|accessdate=2004-01-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202172914/https://www.marshall.com/live-for-music/moving-on-up/eps-lps-albums-and-mixtapes|archive-date=2023-02-02}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://support.tunecore.com/hc/en-us/articles/115006689928-What-is-the-difference-between-a-Single-an-EP-and-an-Album|title=What is the difference between a Single, an EP, and an Album?|publisher=TuneCore|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://dittomusic.com/en/blog/albums-vs-eps-vs-singles-a-guide-to-releasing-music|title=Albums vs EPs vs Singles: A Guide to Releasing Music in 2024|publisher=Ditto Music|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://hiphopmakers.com/what-is-an-ep-in-music|title=What Is An EP In Music? ( Examples, # of Songs, vs. LP )|date=2023-07-07|accessdate=2024-01-01}}</ref>}} An EP is usually less cohesive than an album and more "non-committal".<ref name="iMusician">{{cite web|url=https://imusician.pro/de/ressourcen/blog/was-ist-eine-ep-single-album|title=Was Ist Eine EP, Single Oder Ein Album?|publisher=iMusician|language=de|quote=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...}}</ref> 

An extended play (EP) originally referred to a specific type of 45 [[revolutions per minute|rpm]] [[phonograph record]] other than 78 rpm standard play (SP) and 33 rpm [[LP record|long play (LP)]],<ref>{{cite book |title=Digital Audio Technology: A Guide to CD, MiniDisc, SACD, DVD(A), MP3 and DAT |last1=Maes |first1=Jan |last2=Vercammen |first2=Marc |year=2001 |edition=4th |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ddiwuUpODi8C&pg=PA2 |access-date=June 20, 2014 |publisher=Focal Press |page=2|isbn=9780240516547 }}</ref> but {{asof|2025|lc=y}}, also applies to mid-length [[Compact disc|CDs]] and [[Music download|downloads]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-an-extended-play.htm|title=What Is an Extended Play?|author=Malcolm Tatum|publisher=Wisegeek|date=12 May 2023 }}</ref> 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.<ref name="Fuhr" /><ref name="Chattanooga Times Free Press 2010-01-04" /> In [[K-pop]] and [[J-pop]], they are usually referred to as [[Mini-LP|mini-albums]].<ref name="Fuhr" />