CD or EP... What say ye?

CD or EP... What say ye?

Recently, I was sitting at Waffle House having a conversation with a group of friends. For sake of this post, I will give their respectful titles, an artist, an artist manager, a producer/musician, and myself, a musician as well. We were discussing the music business, as it relates to product. More directly, we focused on such this like, a live recording versus a studio recording, or a live studio recording. We also focused on creating product such as singles, full compact discs (CD’s), or Extended Play Records (EP’s).

As we progressed in conversation, it triggered a thought. “When did Extended Play Records become so popular?” The idea of an EP is not anything new to the music industry; in fact, it was made quite common during the time of the vinyl record. While many are no longer playing vinyl’s, except for me because I prefer them over CD’s J, the fact still remains that is simply the median between a single and a full album. According to Heather McDonald, “Musicians release EPs for a lot of reasons, but perhaps most importantly, they are frequently used as a promotional tool. EPs are used to introduce new bands, keep interest in an artist alive between full length release, to help promote a tour and more.” It makes perfect sense.

I remember when bands and artists were only releasing singles, most times, depending on the genre, it had two to three versions of the single on the CD. That quickly got old. Now, it is not uncommon to see groups, especially new artists, put out an EP, and letting that serve as their “full album.” I personally believe that, while it is a means to promote a tour or an upcoming album, it is simply a means to make a presence in the industry. Just looking through iTunes, I have seen more and more artists release EP’s. From new artists quickly gaining distribution via iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, etc., to already known artists making sure their name is not lost in the wind. There are many music services that are available for artists to use, in an effort to get distribution through such portals. Just to name a couple, CD Baby and ReverbNation.

I must say, I am definitely a fan of Extended Play Records, especially for new artists.