With so many young artists and bedroom producers emerging. I think that sometimes some artists don’t know the difference between an EP, Mixtape or Album. If you are considering being in the music industry then you need to know which is which. EP’s. Mixtapes and Albums are the three major types of music records made and each serve different purposes by the recording artist, record label, and for their fans

EP

Stands for Extended Play. EP’s are the most shortest music records out of albums and mixtapes. EP’s contain more music than one single but are too short to qualify as an album. EP’s count as music records because they give a taste of what the artist is crafting for the future. Today, an EP should generally consist of about 4-7 songs and are rarely sold in stores.

Mixtape

The mixtape is a music piece that is exclusively founded by rappers. These have become underground albums today that are given away for free containing both original and unoriginal works. Many rappers make mixtapes to gain popularity appeal and to show off their rapping prowess while having complete control of their project . On a similar note, it is common for rappers to release mixtapes to satisfy their patient fans after a long music production drought. Few mixtapes are rarely ever sold in stores; rather posted online for free download. Many local artists and record labels will even give out their latest mixtape to local malls, gas stations, and social events.

Albums

Out of the three, music Albums are the most formal and proffesional music projects that a musician will ever record. Albums are generally supposed to be the artists best work but in some cases within the hip hop world, the mixtapes are better than the album which shouldn’t be the case. These projects are sold in stores nationwide and the musician often promotes their album on radios, television, and in any media outlet to sell more records. They are mainstream and most critics use these projects to rate a recording artist. Albums are traditionally done by one musician, but it has become more common for albums to be “collaborated” on by more than one artist, in some cases albums may consist of the entire work of a record label to boost the talent of the attached artists.

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