EXTENDED PLAY Meaning and
Definition
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"Extended Play," commonly abbreviated as "EP," refers to a music format or release that is longer than a single but shorter than a full-length album. An EP typically contains more tracks than a single, showcasing a distinct collection of songs often following a specific theme or concept. The term originated in the vinyl era, where EPs were released on a smaller-sized record that spun at a slower speed than a standard album, typically running for about 10-20 minutes on each side.
An EP acts as a transitional format between a single and an album, providing artists and musicians with an opportunity to present a cohesive body of work to their audience. The length of an EP is not strictly defined, but it commonly consists of four to six tracks, although there can be variations depending on the artist's discretion. EPs can serve various purposes, including showcasing an artist's creative range, introducing new material between album releases, or acting as a teaser for an upcoming full-length album.
Extended plays often offer musicians the chance to experiment with different styles or genres, demonstrating versatility and exploring musical ideas that may not necessarily fit into the structure of a traditional album. Due to their shorter duration, EPs are generally more accessible to listeners and allow artists to release new content more frequently. In contemporary times, EPs are commonly distributed digitally or released on streaming platforms, allowing for broader accessibility and global reach to a wide audience, independent of physical formats.
Etymology of EXTENDED PLAY
The term "extended play", often abbreviated as "EP", originated in the realm of vinyl records. In the mid-20th century, the prevailing format for music was the 78 RPM (revolutions per minute) shellac disc, which typically contained only one song per side. As technology evolved, the 45 RPM vinyl record was introduced, which allowed for more songs to be included on each side, enhancing the listening experience. Additionally, the advent of the long-playing (LP) vinyl record, which rotated at 33 1/3 RPM, expanded the album format to include multiple tracks.
Somewhere in between these two formats emerged the concept of "extended play", which offered a compromise between the single and full-length album. Introduced in the 1950s, the extended play record had a longer playing time than a single but contained fewer tracks than a traditional LP.
