Longplay Explained for Musicians

You must have heard about EPs and singles. Longplays? Who makes 7-8 songs these days? Aren’t singles way easier music format for independent musicians? Well, you wouldn’t be the first person to think that.

 

In this article, we will be answering a few basic questions:

1. What is LP?
   
   
2. What are the benefits of releasing an LP?
   
   
3. What is the difference between an EP and an LP?
   
   
4. EP, Single, and LP criteria on Spotify and iTunes
   
   
5. Should you get your LP on Vinyl?

 

What is LP?

 

Longplay, like extended play, is another format through which a lot of music is released. Acting as a representation of the analog era of the music industry, long plays are full-fledged albums, they are longer than extended plays. Yes, long play is a term used synonymously with an album. 

 

Historically, long plays have stood out since the mid-20th century. Columbia Records introduced long plays in the format of a 12-inch vinyl record, made to accommodate longer musical compositions and still not compromise on the audio quality. The standard ones measured up to 10 inches at the time, which paved the way for shorter plays like extended plays. However, definitions changed over time, and long plays became a term that meant a music album and these didn’t have to be in the physical format necessarily. With the advent of digital streaming, LP as a term has been used to refer to track numbers in the album as well. 

 

What are the benefits of releasing an LP?

 

• Storytelling 

Albums or long plays, are meant to be used when you have a story to tell - there is scope for a depth that is too short to explore in singles or EPs. It is complete, in the sense that you’d be showcasing to your fans something you’ve not only tried to express but also mastered - because you would be releasing 7-8 audio recordings together that collectively knit a story. Sure, with a single, you’d be able to release it quickly and it’d act as a great way to get attention easily, but with long plays, one track leads to another and you’d have gotten the listener’s attention long enough to keep them hooked for the next track. 

 

• Cost-effective 

Longplays, meaning, albums, could be released in mass production, and if you do the math right, you’d be incurring lower costs per song. The upfront fees may be a tad higher, but recording a long play in 2-3 sessions max could technically lower the cost per song when you compare it to releasing singles every month. 

 

• Great for touring 

Longplays have room for so many songs you could put together - which makes them perfect for touring material. For instance, consider The Weeknd. With his long play, Dawn FM, released in 2022, consisting of a total of 16 songs and a playtime of 50 minutes, he spent the entire 2023 touring the album. He not only made variations to the album with ‘Alternate World’ but he also rehashed and added new songs to his previous singles and made an album of that too, called Starboy (Deluxe) which has 21 songs and has a playtime of 80 minutes. He can technically never run out of touring material and it is a great way to get people to listen to all the tracks of the album, not just one.

Let’s not forget Eras Tour of Taylor Swift. She made use of her long plays such as Midnights, Red, Fearless, Speak Now and so on which individually have 15-20 songs and a minimum of 1 hour playing time. She called it Eras Tour because she’d be singing her music throughout different eras that her long plays so distinctively symbolize. 

 

• Greater shelf life 

Albums or long plays have proven to remain more memorable than singles and relevant because of their ability to maintain attention and interest through prolonged periods of time. Due to albums providing endless room for creativity for the artist, the album potentially has a timeless quality that could descend trends and genres. We still go back and listen to Arrival by ABBA because of the quality albums possess. Every track is easily transitioned to the next and although they are unique in particular, they seemingly transcend the barriers of time and stand out as a classic collection. You know you will listen to Money, Money, Money after listening to Dancing Queen - and that’s the magic of a long play. 

Pssst….come here: It is also a great way to keep the listener engaged because he or she will want to listen to the next track if the first one is already great. There’s already something more you’d be offering to the listener - which is not possible with singles. If your single was too good, your listener would have to wait till your next release and that may sometimes backfire if you are taking too long to release your next track. 

 

• Artistic Growth 

Yes, you should probably try to come up with an LP for your own professional development. This is because making a full-length album really tests your patience and creative ability. You should be able to follow a theme, but also not make songs sound too similar, and yeah, it is a task. But once you get into it, you will be better able to understand your strength, how to play it right, and be able to learn and grow as an artist. Albums are also something that not every artist releases in the digital streaming world, so if you do end up releasing a long one, it automatically adds a lot of weight to your music brand - releasing a long-play would be a ‘risk’ that not all independent musicians take. 

Beyonce claimed that albums provided her a chance to explore the possibility of visual storytelling, something which she grew to like over the period of making long plays. She emphasized the importance of visual narratives that could be built along with audio and emotional artistic visions through albums, which Lemonade has done quite remarkably. Maybe, you’d be able to discover new ideas and formats like Beyonce did while making your long play! 

 

• Revenue Generation

Earlier, physical sales such as vinyl records and CDs as well as digital downloads of longplays became the primary source of revenue for many renowned musicians. With the advent of streaming apps and digital music streaming, royalties have become the talk of the town. Although the pay-per-stream on different apps is relatively small, the cumulative or total amount that would add up for an album would be higher than the numbers that singles or EPs would make. 

With long plays, there are greater chances to get your music on movies or TV shows - sync licensing would be just the thing you’d need to learn about. Since there’s already a flow and a theme in your long play, movies or shows that indulge in a similar theme could use your tracks in their tracklist. For instance, consider the Black Panther album - Kendrick Lamar’s songs make up 40% of the tracklist because his songs match a theme that the movie revolves around. The movie would sound a little off without Pray For Me, All The Stars, and Big Shot now that you think about it. Like this, you’d be opening another door for your music income through sync licensing. 

 

What is the difference between an EP and an LP?

 

Let's get our basics right:

 

EPs are definitely shorter than a full-length album, which makes up for an LP. The EP is called a mini album whereas the LP is called a full-fledged album. The total playing time of an EP is less than 30 minutes while an LP has a playing time of up to 40-50 minutes. 

 

EPs are usually released when a bunch of songs have been lined up in a specific way, the purpose here is to act as a binding factor. But with LPs, there's already a concept, a theme that flows throughout all the songs and is created that way. 

 

EPs can have up to 6 tracks maximum, and there's some sort of freedom to explore different sounds and angles making each song seem distinct. With LPs, the number of tracks has to be at least 8, and usually have a maximum of 10 tracks. With LPs, there is no room for more exploration within a particular song, think of it as a movie that runs for an hour, and tells a story through different songs. 

 

Pssst..come here: let's not forget that LPs follow a deliberate track order. You can't place the climax right in the middle of the movie, can you? But with EP, there are no such restrictions. 

 

EP, Single, and LP criteria on Spotify and iTunes

 

Spotify:

 

Single - Your release should have 3 or less than 3 tracks for your music to be called a single and the total playtime of the release should be within 25 minutes. 

 

EP - Your release should have at least 4 tracks and not more than 6, for your music to be called an EP. The total playtime of the release should be a maximum of 30 minutes.

 

Album/Longplay - Your release should have at least 7 tracks (no maximum count was mentioned), for your music to be called a longplay. The total playtime of the release should be more than 30 minutes. 

 

iTunes/Apple Music:

 

Single - Your release should have 1 to 3 tracks in total for your music to be called a single. The playtime should be less than 30 minutes, but note that the individual track should not be more than 10 minutes long. 

 

EP - Your release should have a total of 3 tracks and here, one of more tracks from the list should be 10 minutes or longer than that, but the total playtime should be less than 30 minutes. If the release has a total of 4 - 6 tracks then each track should be less than 10 minutes long and should collectively last only 30 minutes. 

 

Album/Longplay - Your release should have at least 7 tracks for it to be called a longplay or an album and should have a playtime of more than 30 minutes. 

 

Should you get your LP on Vinyl?

We'll be honest, long plays are a little expensive in terms of the production cost. The returns may only be in your favor if they're exclusive and if the songs have already gained traction online. There's a limited market for long plays, which could be an advantage and disadvantage. It could be beneficial for you because no one else would be doing it, and you have a chance of standing out in the competition. But the downside is that there may not be that many buyers in the market. 

Audiophiles, music enthusiasts, music makers, and those who just love collecting vinyl records have termed long plays to have a certain warmth, and analog appeal that digital streaming cannot seem to produce. Even the mere production of something like that - the fact that music can be printed onto something physical and its sounds and elements can also be felt physically through the analog warmth in the long make up the whole immersive listening experience. This could be the reason why CDs and Vinyl records are back in fashion. Following a 2.9% increase in revenue from sales last year, the vinyl record market in 2023 has grown significantly faster, with an 11.7% year-on-year increase to a total of 5.9 million units. Long plays act as collectibles. Limited editions, rare releases (which Taylor Swift has seemed to master) and vintage pressings can be a collector's dream and it can also claim a solid price for it in the market. 

You could definitely give it a shot if you have an album that has 8 songs and has seemingly gotten popular online, enough for your listeners and fans to feel compelled to buy long-play vinyl records from you. 

 

We at GreaseRelease, have a bunch of curators on our network who are looking for new & exciting music to push on their massive playlists. If you make music and want to reach a wider audience, check out our submission platform and get a chance to reach millions of listeners! Submit your tracks now!