EP vs LP
A couple of months back Peach Van Pletzen (Yesterdays Pupil, Bittereinder) posed the following question to his circle of Facebook friends: “In today’s musical climate, is it better to release an album every other year or an EP more frequently?” This is something I’d think many musical artists consider, so we decided to feature it as our Fuss Of The Week and pose the question to our community.
The musical climate Peach speaks of is something that has changed drastically in recent years. The greatest factor in this transformation has to be the Internet. Previously, major labels owned the distribution networks and it was a gruelling and expensive procedure getting your music heard throughout the world without the help of a major label. Nowadays anyone with a laptop and an internet connection can get their music heard in the most inaccessible areas of the world without the need of a major label or an album. Furthermore, musicians are able to achieve worldwide recognition and some degree of fame or success without even releasing an album.
There are some negative consequences the Internet brings to music creation and consumption. The lack of extended concentration or interest is a consequence. With so much information available online and music released on a daily basis, people lose interest very quickly as they jump on to the next thing.
Paul Van Der Walt (Watermark High) has released 4 EP’s since the July 2013 release of his Murmurs EP, and offers his rationale for this decision: “A lot of the songs don’t get lost like they often do on albums, and it also keeps you a bit more current because you have new music out more regularly.”
However, Paul also recognises that people take albums more seriously. Richard Ross-Adams (Sales, Marketing and Product manager at Electromode) reiterates Paul’s thoughts saying, “I love albums, the light and shade, and the album tracks that are slow burners and grow on you. EP’s rarely deliver for me.”
Wayne Habig (Filmmaker and storyteller) creatively condenses his opinion on the matter. “A song is a moment, an album is a story.”
Gangsterdam skipped the whole EP process and released their self-titled debut album earlier this year. The band had an opportunity to record an album and jumped at it.
“We just wanted to get as many of our songs out as possible so that people could hear us,” says Gangsterdam.
They prefer albums because they can really get involved with the band.
“There is more material which provides more context for everything else – other songs, videos, and the band as a whole.”
There seems to be more value for both musicians and consumers in the creation and consumption of an album. Henk Van Der Schyf (Park Acoustics, Grietfest) agrees but also says he recently changed his mind, and recommends musicians to release EPs as opposed to an album.
“Personally I still enjoy [an album]more, but as an artist, it’s difficult to get radio play 9 months after an album was released. You simply loose traction.”
He offers the case of Desmond and The Tutu to support his thoughts. The band has had two of the four tracks on their most recent EP Enjoy Yourself play listed by local radio.
“If it happens again with their second EP, they would already have achieved more than what most bands accomplish with a successful album release,” he adds.
On the other hand, Rob Storm (Made For Broadway) looks at it in terms of financing and making revenue off the releases.
“From a cost perspective, it’s a little more expensive to do multiple EPs in a year.”
“Based on some limited research, first-hand experience, and some collected anecdotal evidence, it’s also harder to sell physical EPs,” says Rob. He also acknowledges that an EP is perceived to be of less value to consumers.
There were various other thoughts on the matter supporting either side of the discussion with substantial reinforcement but one thing that the majority of those involved shared is that it depends on what your goals are. There really is no right answer and Goran Manojlovic thought it a bit frivolous trying to find one.
“Depends on what you aim to release and how you want it to be consumed. It’s silly to decide on a universal rule,” he says.
Maybe it is a bit silly, but I’ll still take a shot at giving an answer on whether it is better to release an EP or a LP.
Based on our community’s feedback and some personal experience, I’d have to say that my conclusion is that you shouldn’t consider one over the other as they work well together. Try finding a balance, which works, for you in releasing albums and EPs between the releases of those albums.
Ultimately, success and art is subjective and as a musician you need to consider what you’d like to achieve with a release, as well as the resources available to you to create and distribute that release. EPs and LPs each have their unique financial and creative implications and it’s up to you to find a comfortable balance between business and art.
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