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An EP (for extended play), is the name given to vinyl records (or CDs) which are too long to qualify as singles but too short to qualify as albums. Typically an album has eight or more tracks (or around one hour), a single only one or two, and an EP five to eight. A remix single is not considered an EP unless it also has other songs on it (an EP/single hybrid).
EPs were released in various sizes in different eras. The earliest EPs were 33⅓ RPM recordings on 10" (25cm) disks, and appeared at the close of the 78 RPM era. By coincidence, the format gained wide popularity with the coming of Elvis Presley, and it is sometimes erroneously stated that the term "EP" derived from his initials.
In the 1970s and 1980s there was less standardization, and EPs were made on 7" (18cm), 10", or 12" (30cm) discs running either 33⅓ or 45 RPM. Some novelty EPs used odd shapes and colours, and a few were picture discs.
The first recordings released by many punk music bands were released in EP format, mainly because the high-energy nature of the genre and short songs that resulted made it difficult to create sufficient material to fill an LP. For bands that went on to achieve commercial success, it was customary for the original EP tracks to be released later on full-length albums.
The term is also sometimes applied to compact discCD re-directs here; see Cd for other meanings of CD . A compact disc (or CD is an optical disc used for storing digital data. It was originally invented for digital audio and is also used as a data storage device, a CD-ROM. CD-ROM reading devices are a sts with short playing times. However, since a CD can carry any amount of material up to around 80 minutes, the distinction between a CD EP and a short CD LP is somewhat arbitrary and based on artistic and marketingMarketing is the craft of linking the producers (or potential producers) of a product or service with customers, both existing and potential. Some form of marketing arises naturally in all capitalist societies but is not limited to capitalist societies. factors. An EP may be released as a promo, for example.
See gramophone recordHeaven and Hell by Black Sabbath is an example, showing the South Korean version of the 33 rpm record from 1980 or 1983. A gramophone record or phonograph record (often simply record is an analogue sound recording medium: a flat disc rotating at a constan for more.