In the history of releasing music, there have been many formats and mediums to which artists choose from; Single, EP, LP, Album and more. In this article, we will be discussing how important it is for starting artists to be releasing EPs more regularly and introducing themselves properly to the industry’s professionals.
The spectrum of effective promotion starts with a single, which is like a tasting of what the artist can do, to an album, showing how truly capable the artist is and their diverse musical skills. EPs kind of lie in the middle, where it’s much more representative of the artist than a single and less than an album. But, where did the concept of EPs come from?
Early in the 20th century, they found a way to produce multiple tracks within a vinyl disc that wasn’t an album, which became a standard and cheap way to promote music. Almost a century later, in the 2000s the same concept was popularized for hip-hop and electronic music. Since then, EPs have seamlessly integrated in the modern internet era and artists have taken advantage of it by promoting a few songs rather than a full album.
Releasing an EP is like giving a business card, really. The recipient can understand the credentials and musical capability of the artist while not having to go through a whole production for an album, which is quite valuable in today’s climate.