These days, it seems the length of music releases is getting shorter. Or is it getting longer? When is a song considered “rough” and when is it meant to represent a moment in history for your band? You might be able to give your project a creative name, or keep it self-titled, but that doesn’t tell us what the project IS. Is it a single, demo, an EP, a full-lenth album, or is it something else?
In a previous post, I talked in length about how the music industry is changing simultaneously with the explosion of the blogosphere. One thing to take away from this is that releases that are shorter in length are much more common today. Less songs, shorter songs, but new releases are much more frequent.
Music production quality, especially out of home recording studios, has improved tremendously in the past decade. We’re now seeing independent artists producing some great sounding tracks straight out of their basement budget recording studio. Songs that would be demos sound good enough to use on the album!
Here’s a breakdown of the common names for music releases. This should help you figure out which format best fits your style and current situation.
Demo
A demo really doesn’t have any specific length or number of songs, however it’s most commonly shorter than an EP or an album. The very first thing bands cut is usually a demo consisting of three to four songs. This is used to put a sound to the name, populate the Myspace page with something, and send out to clubs to book shows.
You’re probably not so concerned with getting your demo in the hands of thousands of fans because this is really just the first draft of your sound. Additionally, many music consumers are not very excited about paying money for something that’s called a “demo” or even taking the time to listen to it more than once.
It might be a good idea to hand out some demos for free while you’re band is developing, or you’re in the studio recording your first “real release”.
Demo recordings might also be used for more experienced bands and songwriters as more of an internal production process. You record a full song with some arrangement as a test run for when you record it for the record. This is good to listen to for a couple weeks to get a feel for how you want to perfect it on the real thing.
EP
The EP, or Extended Play, has been around for quite a while, although it seems to have been making a resurgence in recent years. Here’s some more information about it.
EPs tend to have 10 to 30 minutes of material and consist of roughly five or six songs. This is kind of the middle ground between a demo and a full-length album.
EPs can be used in a variety of situations. Perhaps it’s the first official release that you’re promoting to your audience to generate a buzz and introduce your sound. You may not have enough material to fill a full-length album yet.
Another idea is to release several EPs in a short period of time to create a steady stream of musical output. I personally think this idea is really gaining traction in recent years. In fact, I chose to use this method of releasing my songs at my personal blog (sorry for the shameless plug!).
Another great use for an EP is a bonus release that follows a full-length album or accompanies a DVD. Many bands release a shorter EP containing b-side recordings from the album. Others release it as an exclusive set of never heard before songs or versions of existing songs. There lots of interesting options when working with the EP format.
Album
An album, or otherwise known as LP (long-play), is 30 to 80 minutes of material, usually consisting of ten to twelve songs.
While the sliding record industry is certainly having an effect on the overall quality and substance of albums, they are still the centerpiece of the discography of many bands and artists.
Albums are the way we reference historic moments in rock history. Albums define the phase of an artist’s career and provide a point of comparison to early and later developments in their sound.
For many emerging bands and artists, it can be difficult to commit the time and the funds needed to produce a full-length album when the success of that album may or may not come. It takes a huge amount of promotion efforts along with some luck to fully recoup the cost of making the album (and this goes for self-produced independent bands too). This is one reason why EPs are a more popular method for recording and releasing music while continuing to gig and progress as a band.
These ideas should help you decide on the best format for your music at any given point in your songwriting career. I’d love to hear your ideas and experiences in this aspect of the song game.
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10/20/2009
8:56 pm
Ani
This couldn’t be explained in a more easy and understandable way.
THANK YOU!!
P.S: I’ll Check out your blog now.
03/3/2010
4:29 pm
Ketsyha
Wow. This was really helpfull for me, specially in this step of my career because, right now I am making some important desicions about the songs I’ve already recorded, that actually are six. I’m considering to release an EP with those, and then progress with my album. Thanks