Editing Extended play

{{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" />

==Background==
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{{more citations needed|section|date=March 2019}}
{{original research|section|date=March 2019}}
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===History===
EPs were released in various sizes in different eras. The earliest multi-track records, issued around 1919 by [[Grey Gull Records]], were [[Vertical cut recording|vertically cut]] 78 [[Revolutions per minute|rpm]] discs known as "2-in-1" records. These had finer grooves than usual, like [[Edison Disc Records]]. By 1949, when the 45 rpm [[Single (music)|single]] and 33{{frac|1|3}} rpm [[LP record|LP]] were competing formats, 7-inch 45 rpm singles had a maximum playing time of only about four minutes per side.

Partly as an attempt to compete with the LP introduced in 1948 by rival [[Columbia Records|Columbia]], [[RCA Records|RCA Victor]] introduced "Extended Play" [[Gramophone record|45s]] during [[1952 in music|1952]]. Their narrower grooves, achieved by lowering the cutting levels and sound compression optionally, enabled them to hold up to 7.5 minutes per side—but still be played by a standard 45 rpm [[phonograph]]. In the early era, record companies released the entire content of LPs as 45 rpm EPs.<ref name="Osborne">{{cite book |first=Richard |last=Osborne |title=Vinyl: A History of the Analogue Record |publisher=Routledge |date=2016 |page=106}}</ref> These were usually 10-inch (25-cm) LPs (released until the mid-1950s) split onto two 7-inch EPs or 12-inch (30-cm) LPs split onto three 7-inch EPs, either sold separately or together in gatefold covers. This practice became much less common with the advent of triple-speed-available phonographs.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}

[[File:140405 Wega-Dual-300-01.jpg|thumb|EP ''Pat Boone Sings the Hits'', compiling four songs by [[Pat Boone]]]]
Introduced by [[RCA]] in the US in 1952, [[EMI]] issued the first EPs in Britain in April 1954.<ref name="Osborne" /> EPs were typically compilations of singles or album samplers and were played at 45 rpm on 7-inch (18-cm) discs, with two songs on each side.<ref name="Strong"/><ref name="key-concepts">{{cite book |title= Popular Music: The Key Concepts |last= Shuker |first= Roy |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=gtTMpYXhh7wC |year= 2005 |publisher = Routledge |isbn= 978-0-415-34770-9 |page= 246 |chapter= Singles; EPs |access-date= June 20, 2014}}</ref>
The manufacturing price of an EP was a little more than that of a single.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Il3aAAAAMAAJ&q=%2233+rpm+EP%22 | title=Bluegrass Unlimited | date=1981 }}</ref> Thus, they were a bargain for those who did not own the LPs from which the tracks were taken.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S1JLAAAAYAAJ&q=%22bargain+price+too%22+EPs |title=English Song and Dance |publisher=English Folk Dance and Song Society
 |date=1966 |page=42}}</ref>

RCA had success in the format with [[Elvis Presley]], issuing 28 EPs between [[1956 in music|1956]] and [[1967 in music|1967]], many of which topped the separate ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' EP chart during its brief existence.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}  Other than those published by RCA, EPs were relatively uncommon in the United States and Canada, but they were widely sold in the United Kingdom, and in some other European countries, during the 1950s and 1960s. In Sweden, the EP was a popular record format, with as much as 85% of the market in the late 1950s consisting of EPs.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Leif |last1=Aulin  |first2=Pontus |last2=von Tell |title=British Beat in Sweden: The Original Vinyls 1957–1969 |date=2018 |publisher=Premium Publishing |isbn=978-91-89136-60-1}}</ref>

''Billboard'' introduced a weekly EP chart in October 1957, noting that "the teen-age market apparently dominates the EP business, with seven out of the top 10 best-selling EPs featuring artists with powerful teen-age appeal — four sets by Elvis Presley, two by [[Pat Boone]] and one by [[Little Richard]]".<ref>{{cite magazine |first=June |last=Bundy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3SgEAAAAMBAJ&dq=ep+charts&pg=PA30 |title=Billboard Adds to Pop Chart Score: New Service Cover Weekly Listing of EP Best-sellers; Album Box Score |magazine=Billboard |date=7 October 1957}}</ref> Other publications such as ''[[Record Retailer]]'', [[NME|''New Musical Express'' (''NME'')]], ''[[Melody Maker]]'', ''[[Disc and Music Echo]]'' and the ''[[Record Mirror]]'' also printed EP charts.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}} 

The popularity of EPs in the US had declined in the early 1960s in favor of LPs. In the UK, [[Cliff Richard]] and [[the Shadows]], both individually and collectively, and [[the Beatles]] were the most prolific artists issuing EPs in the 1960s, many of them highly successful releases. The Beatles' ''[[Twist and Shout (EP)|Twist and Shout]]'' outsold most singles for some weeks in 1963. The success of the EP in Britain lasted until around 1967, but it later had a strong revival with [[punk rock]] in the late 1970s and the adaptation of the format for 12-inch and [[Compact disc|CD]] singles.<ref>{{cite book |first=Dave |last=Thompson |chapter=EPs – Albums on Installment Plans |title=The Music Lover's Guide to Record Collecting |publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation |date=2002}}</ref> The British band [[Cocteau Twins]] made prolific use of the EP format, releasing ten EPs between 1982 and 1995.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cocteautwins.com/eps/ |title=EPs |publisher=cocteautwins.com }}</ref> Typically used for the [[CD single]], some bands like [[The Locust]] made use of the 8cm/3" CD format to release EPs, including their 1997 self-titled EP.

In the [[Philippines]], seven-inch EPs marketed as "[[mini-LP]]s" (but distinctly different from the mini-LPs of the 1980s) were introduced in 1970, with tracks selected from an album and packaging resembling the album they were taken from.<ref name="Salazar">{{cite magazine |last=Salazar |first=Oskar |title=Philippines Gets First Mini-LP |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=June 13, 1970 |pages=80–81}}</ref> This mini-LP format also became popular in America in the early 1970s for promotional releases, and also for use in [[jukebox]]es.<ref name="BB1972">{{cite magazine |title=7-in. LP Growing Concept |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=March 25, 1972 |page=39}}</ref>

In 2010, [[Warner Bros. Records]] revived the format with their "Six-Pak" offering of six songs on a compact disc.<ref name="sixpak">{{Cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/country/1211856/another-body-blow-for-albums-warner-to-launch-new-six-pak-format |title=Another Body Blow For Albums: Warner To Launch New Six-Pak Format |first=Deborah Evans |last=Price |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=February 3, 2010 |access-date=February 3, 2010}}</ref>

===EPs in the digital and streaming era===
Due to the increased popularity of [[music download]]s and [[music streaming]] beginning in the late 2000s, EPs have become a common marketing strategy for [[Pop music|pop]] musicians wishing to remain relevant and deliver music in more consistent timeframes leading to or following full studio albums. In the late 2000s to early 2010s, [[reissue]]s of studio albums with expanded track listings were common, with the new music often being released as stand-alone EPs. In October 2010, a ''[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'' article regarding the trend noted post-album EPs as "the next step in extending albums' shelf lives, following the "deluxe" editions that populated stores during the past few holiday seasons—add a few tracks to the back end of an album and release one of them to radio, slap on a new coat of paint, and—voila!—a stocking stuffer is born."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2010/10/kesha-lady-gaga-taylor-swift-new-companion-albums |first1=Maura |last1=Johnston |author-link=Maura Johnston |title=With Ke$ha, Gaga, and Taylor Swift, It's All About the Art of the Tease|magazine=Vanity Fair|date=20 October 2010|access-date=28 September 2019}}</ref> Examples of such releases include [[Lady Gaga]]'s ''[[The Fame Monster]]'' (2009) following her debut album ''[[The Fame]]'' (2008), and [[Kesha]]'s ''[[Cannibal (EP)|Cannibal]]'' (2010) following her debut album ''[[Animal (Kesha album)|Animal]]'' (2010).

A 2019 article in ''[[Forbes]]'' discussing [[Miley Cyrus]]' plan to release her then-upcoming seventh studio album as a trilogy of EPs, beginning with ''[[She Is Coming]]'', stated: "By delivering a trio of EPs throughout a period of several months, Miley is giving her fans more of what they want, only in smaller doses. When an artist drops an album, they run the risk of it being forgotten in a few weeks, at which point they need to start work on the follow-up, while still promoting and touring their recent effort. Miley is doing her best to game the system by recording an album and delivering it to fans in pieces."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2019/06/13/three-reasons-why-miley-cyrus-new-album-rollout-plan-is-brilliant/ |first1=Hugh |last1=McIntyre |url-access=subscription |title=3 Reasons Miley Cyrus' New Album Rollout Plan Is Brilliant|website=Forbes|date=13 June 2019|access-date=28 September 2019}}</ref> However, this release strategy was later scrapped in favor of the conventional album release of ''[[Plastic Hearts]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/miley-cyrus-isnt-planning-to-release-an-album-any-time-soon-it-doesnt-make-sense-for-me__30761/|title=Miley Cyrus isn't planning to release an album any time soon: "It doesn't make sense for me"|last=Copsey|first=Rob|publisher=Official Charts Company|date=August 14, 2020|access-date=August 14, 2020|archive-date=September 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918163101/https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/miley-cyrus-isnt-planning-to-release-an-album-any-time-soon-it-doesnt-make-sense-for-me__30761/|url-status=live}}</ref> Major-label pop musicians who had previously employed such release strategies include [[Colbie Caillat]] with her fifth album ''[[Gypsy Heart (Colbie Caillat album)|Gypsy Heart]]'' (2014) being released following an EP of the album's first five tracks known as ''Gypsy Heart: Side A'' three months prior to the full album; and [[Jessie J]]'s fourth studio album ''[[R.O.S.E. (Jessie J album)|R.O.S.E.]]'' (2018) which was released as four EPs in as many days entitled ''R (Realisations)'', ''O (Obsessions)'', ''S (Sex)'' and ''E (Empowerment)''.

==Definition==
The first EPs were seven-inch vinyl records with more tracks than a normal single (typically four <!-- to six -->of them). Although they shared size and speed with singles, they were a recognizably different format than the seven-inch single. Although they could be named after a lead track, they were generally given a different title.<ref name="Strong" /> 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.<ref name="Strong"/> The playing time was generally between 10 and 15 minutes.<ref name="Strong"/> In the UK they came in cardboard picture sleeves at a time when singles were usually issued in paper company sleeves. EPs tended to be album samplers or collections of singles. EPs of all original material began to appear in the 1950s. Examples are Elvis Presley's ''[[Love Me Tender (EP)|Love Me Tender]]'' from 1956 and "Just for You", "[[Peace in the Valley (EP)|Peace in the Valley]]" and "[[Jailhouse Rock (EP)|Jailhouse Rock]]" from 1957, and [[the Kinks]]' ''[[Kinksize Session]]'' from 1964.

Twelve-inch EPs were similar, but generally had between three and five tracks and a length of over 12 minutes.<ref name="Strong"/> Like seven-inch EPs, these were given titles.<ref name="Strong"/> EP releases were also issued in [[Compact Cassette|cassette]] and 10-inch vinyl formats.<ref name="Strong"/> With the advent of the [[compact disc]] (CD), more music was often included on "single" releases, with four or five tracks being common, and playing times of up to 25 minutes.<ref name="Strong"/> These extended-length singles became known as [[maxi single]]s and while commensurate in length to an EP were distinguished by being designed to feature a single song, with the remaining songs considered [[A-side and B-side|B-sides]], whereas an EP was designed not to feature a single song, instead resembling a mini album.

EPs of original material regained popularity in the [[punk rock]] era, when they were commonly used for the release of new material, e.g. [[Buzzcocks]]' ''[[Spiral Scratch (EP)|Spiral Scratch]]'' EP.<ref name="Strong"/>

[[Ricardo Baca]] of ''[[The Denver Post]]'' said in 2010, "EPs—originally extended-play 'single' releases that are shorter than traditional albums—have long been popular with punk and indie bands."<ref name="Chattanooga Times Free Press 2010-01-04">{{cite web|url=http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2010/jan/04/albums-fade-away-music-industry-looks-shorter-reco/?breakingnews|title=As albums fade away, music industry looks to shorter records|first=Ricardo|last=Baca|author-link=Ricardo Baca|work=[[The Denver Post]]|publisher=[[Chattanooga Times Free Press]]|date=January 4, 2010|access-date=July 21, 2010}}</ref>

Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks.<ref name="Definition - Billboard, etc.">{{cite web |date=2014-08-19 |title=EP to the Rescue! Short Albums Are a Rare Music Business Success Story |url=https://www.billboard.com/pro/ep-music-business-success/ |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230501080522/https://www.billboard.com/pro/ep-music-business-success/ |archivedate=2023-05-01 |access-date=2023-12-31 |publisher=Billboard |language=en |quote="Extended play," a format comprising eight or fewer songs...}}<br />{{cite web |title=EP's, LP's, Albums and Mixtapes |url=https://marshall.com/live-for-music/moving-on-up/eps-lps-albums-and-mixtapes |website=marshall.com |language=en |quote=EP stands for 'Extended Play,' meaning that an EP is longer than a single but shorter than an album. They typically feature between 2–5 songs and are under 30 minutes in length.}}"[https://www.musicgateway.com/blog/music-distribution/play-music-make-killer-ep-4-steps What Is an EP? What Does EP Stand For & EP Meaning]". Music Gateway{{cite web |date=2023-07-07 |title=What Is An EP In Music? ( Examples, # of Songs, vs. LP ) |url=https://hiphopmakers.com/what-is-an-ep-in-music |accessdate=2024-01-01 |quote=An EP, short for Extended Play, is a shorter music album with 2 to 9 songs and is usually under 30 minutes in length. EPs tend to be more concise mini albums with a much smaller price tag. The term "EP" has been used in various ways in the music industry, but today we use it most often when referring to albums with fewer than 10 tracks. In some cases, an EP may contain only three or four songs, while others might have seven or even nine.}}</ref>

In the United States, the [[Recording Industry Association of America]], the organization that declares releases "gold" or "platinum" based on numbers of sales, defines an EP as containing three to five songs or under 30 minutes.<ref name="Gold and Platinum">{{cite web|url=https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/about-awards/|title=About the Awards – RIAA|publisher=[[Recording Industry Association of America]]}}</ref> On the other hand, [[The Recording Academy]]'s rules for [[Grammy Award]]s state that any release with five or more different songs and a running time of over 15 minutes is considered an album, with no mention of EP.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.grammy.org/awards-process-updates|title=Awards Process Updates|publisher=[[The Recording Academy]]|date=July 8, 2015|access-date=January 26, 2017|archive-date=July 3, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170703200557/https://www.grammy.org/awards-process-updates|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In the United Kingdom, an EP can appear either on the album or the single chart. The [[Official Charts Company|Official Chart Company]] classifies any record with more than four tracks (not counting alternative versions of featured songs, if present) or with a playing time of more than 25 minutes as an album for sales-chart purposes. If priced as a single, they will not qualify for the main album chart but can appear in the separate Budget Albums chart.<ref name="UKCS">{{cite web |url=http://www.officialcharts.com/media/647278/official-uk-charts-singles-chart-rules-march-2015.pdf |title=Rules for Chart Eligibility – Singles |date=March 2015 |first1=Chris |last1=Austin |first2=Lucy |last2=Blyth |publisher=[[Official Charts Company]] |access-date=March 21, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190903160821/https://www.officialcharts.com/media/647278/official-uk-charts-singles-chart-rules-march-2015.pdf|archive-date=2019-09-03}}</ref><ref name="UKCA">{{cite web |url=http://www.officialcharts.com/media/647277/official-uk-charts-album-chart-rules-march-2015.pdf |title=Rules for Chart Eligibility – Albums |date=March 2015 |first1=Chris |last1=Austin |first2=Lucy |last2=Blyth |publisher=[[Official Charts Company]] |access-date=March 21, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327103824/https://www.officialcharts.com/media/647277/official-uk-charts-album-chart-rules-march-2015.pdf|archive-date=2019-03-27}}</ref>

An intermediate format between EPs and full-length LPs is the [[mini-LP]], which was a common album format in the 1980s. These generally contained 20–30 minutes of music and about seven tracks.<ref name="Strong">{{cite book |last=Strong |first=Martin C. |title=The Great Rock Discography |edition=6th |year= 2002 |publisher=Canongate |isbn=978-1-84195-312-0 }}</ref>

==Double EPs==
{{Tone|section|date=May 2019}}
A double extended play is a name typically given to [[vinyl records]] or [[compact discs]] released as a set of two discs, each of which would normally qualify as an EP. The name is thus analogous to [[double album]]. As vinyl records, the most common format for the double EP, they consist of a pair of 7-inch discs recorded at 45 or 33{{frac|1|3}} [[Revolutions per minute|rpm]], or two 12-inch discs recorded at 45 rpm. The format is useful when an album's worth of material is being pressed by a small plant geared for the production of singles rather than albums and may have novelty value which can be turned to advantage for publicity purposes. Double EPs are rare, since the amount of material record-able on a double EP could usually be more economically and sensibly recorded on a single [[Gramophone record|vinyl LP]].

In the 1950s, [[Capitol Records]] had released a number of double EPs by its more popular artists, including [[Les Paul]]. The pair of double EPs (EBF 1–577, sides 1 to 8) were described on the original covers as "parts ... of a four-part album".{{citation needed|date=August 2019}} In 1960, [[Joe Meek]] released four tracks from his planned ''[[I Hear a New World]]'' LP on an EP that was marked "Part 1". A second EP was planned, but never appeared; only the sleeve was printed.<ref>{{cite web|first=Andy|last=Beta|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/17864-joe-meek-i-hear-a-new-world/|title=Joe Meek: ''I Hear a New World'' Album Review|website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]|date=5 April 2013|access-date=27 August 2019}}</ref> The first double EP released in Britain was [[the Beatles]]' ''[[Magical Mystery Tour]]'' film soundtrack.<ref>{{cite book|first=Colin|last=Larkin|year=2006|title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music ''(4th edn)''|location=London|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-531373-4|page=488}}</ref><ref name="NeaversonBeatlesMovies">{{cite book|last=Neaverson|first=Bob|title=The Beatles Movies|publisher=Cassell|location=London|year=1997|isbn=978-0-304337965|url=http://www.beatlesmovies.co.uk/magical-mystery-tour/background.asp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091002072940/http://www.beatlesmovies.co.uk/magical-mystery-tour/background.asp |archive-date=2 October 2009|via=beatlesmovies.co.uk (chapter: "Magical Mystery Tour Part 1 – Background and Production")|pages=53–54}}</ref> Released in December 1967 on EMI's [[Parlophone]] label, it contained six songs spread over two 7-inch discs and was packaged with a lavish color booklet.<ref name="NeaversonBeatlesMovies" /> In the United States and some other countries, the songs were augmented by the band's single A- and B-sides from 1967 to create a full LP –a practice that was common in the US but considered exploitative in the UK.<ref name="NeaversonBeatlesMovies" /> The [[Style Council]] album ''[[The Cost of Loving]]'' was originally issued as two 12-inch EPs.

It is more common for artists to release two 12-inch 45s rather than a single 12-inch LP.{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}} Though there are 11 songs that total about 40 minutes, enough for one LP, the songs are spread across two 12" 45 rpm discs. Also, the vinyl pressing of ''[[Hail to the Thief]]'' by [[Radiohead]] uses this practice but is considered to be a full-length album. In 1982 [[Cabaret Voltaire (band)|Cabaret Voltaire]] released their studio album "[[2x45]]" on the UK-based label [[Rough Trade Records|Rough Trade]], featuring extended tracks over four sides of two 12-inch 45 rpm discs, with graphics by artist [[Neville Brody]].  The band subsequently released a further album in this format, 1985's "[[Drinking Gasoline]]", on the [[Virgin Records]] label.

Double EPs can also contain the work of multiple artists split across different sides, akin to [[Split album|split albums]]. An example of this is the ''[[Dunedin Double (EP)|Dunedin Double]]'' EP, which contains tracks by four different bands. Using a double EP in this instance allowed each band to have its tracks occupying a different side. In addition, the groove on the physical record could be wider and thus allow for a louder album.{{Citation needed|date=May 2014}}

==Jukebox EP==
[[Image:Filben Maestro juke box 01.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.8|A 1948 Filben FP-300 Maestro jukebox, 78 rpm]]
In the 1960s and 1970s, record companies released EP versions of long-play (LP) albums for use in [[jukebox]]es. These were commonly known as "compact 33s" or "little LPs". The jukebox EP was played at 33{{frac|1|3}} rpm, was pressed on seven-inch vinyl and frequently had as many as six songs. What made it EP-like was that some songs were omitted for time purposes, and the most popular tracks were left on. Unlike most EPs before them, and most seven-inch vinyl in general (pre-1970s), these were issued in [[Stereophonic sound|stereo]].

==See also==
* [[List of number-one EPs in the United Kingdom]]

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==References==
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[[Category:Album types]]
[[Category:Audio storage]]
[[Category:EPs| ]]
[[Category:Recorded music]]