What’s the difference between an album, an EP, an LP, and a mixtape?
In: Technology
Back in the days of records, there were a couple of competing formats. The earliest was a 10 inch disc played at 78rpm. This format could only hold 1 song per side.
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Edit: see u/seeteethree post, apparently 78s were available as single discs with just 2 songs (an A side and a B side). These were called “singles”. Alternatively, a collection of 10 or 12 songs might be released on a group of 5 or 6 discs (each with 1 song each side). This group of discs was packaged up in a booklet about the size of a photo album and was known as an “album”.
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In the 50s a format war broke out, with a 7 inch disc played at 45rpm on one side (called the SP), and a 12 inch disc played at 33rpm on the other (called the LP). The 45 was more convenient and cheaper but only held 1 song per side, while the LP was large and expensive but could hold about 6 songs per side. Unfortunately, not all players were compatible with both formats.
Over time, the manufacturers behind the 45 tried to negate some of the benefit of the LP by figuring out how to compress more music onto their smaller discs. These discs were marketed at EP or extended play. They could hold about 3 songs per side and be played back on a 45 player.
Over time, as multiformat players became widespread, it became customary for singles to be published in the SP format, while the LP was used for collections of multiple tracks that were designed to be listened to in sequential order (ie an album). The EP was popular for samplers, demos and mini-albums for bands that couldn’t afford to cut a whole LP.
Over time, the use of format names to refer to the type of record that the format was typically used for has kinda stuck (at least as far as EP and LP go).
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