So what actually constitutes a full-length album?

[j_ahn3]

It's been on my mind for a really long time. On the one hand, you have an LP consisting of only one really long track split into two parts (Thick as a Brick). On the other hand, you have a 9-track album that lasts less than 15 minutes total and it still counts as an LP (Earth A.D./Wolfs Blood).

The 7-track albums are the ones that are really confusing because I've seen some people call a 7-track album a full-length LP and some others that call a 7-track album an EP, not helped by the fact that I know a band on a personal level that recently released their full-length LP and yet there were some people that acknowledged that it's an LP while there were some others that claimed it's an EP.

Several people claim that an LP has either at least 40 minutes of length or at least 10/11/12 tracks, and I'm going to have to dispute both cases because I know for a fact that Master of Reality has only 8 tracks clocking in at 34:31 and it still counts as an LP.

I know for a fact that many people have said that an LP should have at least 12 songs and 40 minutes of length if it's going to be released in CD form, but honestly, to me, that's irrelevant. If the original Master of Reality counts as an LP, I would still say it's an LP, even if that exact original tracklist weren't on vinyl. If the album is an LP on vinyl, then why can't that exact same tracklist still count as an LP if it were in CD form or something along those lines?

It still keeps me wondering. Would an album with 7 tracks still count as an LP across all streaming/sale platforms? Would a 30 minute album still count as an LP across all streaming/sale platforms? Is there already a government or association standardised rule when it comes to what determines an LP? If an album that used to count as an LP back then doesn't count as an LP anymore, why is that?

If an LP usually has 40+ minutes of length and at least 11 or 12 tracks, then what about the LPs that don't fit either of these qualifications? How did they get acknowledged as LPs even though one of them only has 9 tracks and less than 15 minutes of length? What would be the actual minimum that constitutes an LP?

I know the question might feel a little redundant or frivolous but there have been so many discrepancies when it comes to what actually constitutes a full-length LP and it's been on my mind for years.

Joonho

EDIT: I should also mention that Annoying Customer's "INTERVALS" only has 9 tracks clocking in at roughly 23 minutes and it happens to be, out of all possible formats, a digital album, and it still counts as a full-length album according to a blog post.

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

The use of LP and EP is antiquated, and no longer really makes sense. "LP" is different from an album, in the sense that it originally meant Long-play, and was from a time when albums either consisted of longer classical pieces, or multiples of 'pop' songs. These days, you can have an album consisting of 10, 1-minute, songs, but that wouldn't qualify as being an LP.

For me:

1 track = 'single' release
2 - 5 tracks = EP (extended play)
5 - and beyond - Album (LP?)

I'd stick with album, as it covers most scenarios

[j_ahn3]

Okay, then LP is probably not the right term to use, fine, by all that I meant full-length album the whole time.

WintermintP

[Vortifex]

..

[whyterabbyt]

Mileages vary but...

In the United Kingdom, the Official Chart Company defines a boundary between EP and album classification at 25 minutes of maximum length or four tracks (not counting alternative versions of featured songs, if present).
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In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America, the organization that declares releases "gold" or "platinum" based on numbers of sales, defines an EP as containing three to five songs or under 30 minutes. On the other hand, The Recording Academy's rules for Grammy Awards state that any release with five or more different songs and a running time of over 15 minutes is considered an album, with no mention of EPs

Back in the day, here, Im sure there was a conscious distinction between a 7" EP and a 12" single. EPs and 12" singles were always still 45rpm, I think, and I dont recall anything being called an EP that was in 'album format' (12"/33rpm) though that's age more than specific authority.
Feck knows what 10" vinyl counted as. Aberration.

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

Okay, then LP is probably not the right term to use, fine, by all that I meant full-length album the whole time.

WintermintP

But a full-length album need not be tied to a measurement of time; rather, it need only be full/complete, by it's own terms.

Here's something that came up via a google search

https://rateyourmusic.com/list/Turkey_B ... n_progress__/

Each of these could be considered full-lenth (think 'complete', 'unabridged'), but not long-play (LP) Ditching Lp for Album sorts out the confusion...maybe

[j_ahn3]

I had this discussion with a friend recently. He'd put 6 tracks together and called it an album, but I considered that to qualify as an EP, not an album. But then I remembered that Kraftwerk's Man Machine is 36 minutes long and consists of 6 tracks.

Landr has the following guidelines for release on its platform (their bolding):

An EP is considered 1-3 songs with one song of at least 10 minutes in length and a total running time of 30 minutes or less.

Or an EP is considered 4-6 songs with a total running time of 30 minutes or less.

An album is considered to be 6 or more songs running over 30 minutes in length.

But then there are full-length albums that have more than 6 songs running less than 30 minutes. What does that count as according to them?

Joonho

[whyterabbyt]

But then there are full-length albums that have more than 6 songs running less than 30 minutes. What does that count as according to them?
Joonho

These arent laws, they're either categorisations for specific purposes (sales charts) or guidelines (marketing)

[AsPeeXXXVIII]

Personally, how I make the distinction between an EP and a full-length is in the following way:

If it has 6 tracks or less with a total running time of 30 minutes or less, it's an EP.
If it has 7 tracks or more with a total running time of 30 minutes or more, it's a full-length.

There are varying definitions, of course, and I like to think not one of them is entirely correct or entirely wrong. The way I see it, there's a certain degree of subjectivity to this matter.

[pljones]

But then there are full-length albums that have more than 6 songs running less than 30 minutes. What does that count as according to them?
Joonho

In a similar vein to whyterabbyt, they count as aberrations and unlikely to chart as a single work (i.e. the "album"), so the chart companies couldn't care less. Really, that's what it comes down to -- it really doesn't matter at all except to those to whom it matters. If it matters to them, they (and only they) can tell you.

[Robmobius]

When it's finished it's finished... Or complete as El-Bo eloquently said. That is when you feel you've conveyed the amount of material that you want in that segment (album, EP, etc).

One of my favorite albums has 12 songs but the album is only 11:45 secs. I know, some of the songs are short (.45 secs) but it still feel like a full album to me a complete work if you will.

[himalaya]

OT but....
It's not about the length, it's about the girth.

That is, how many playlists can one song (or its remix) be placed in.

[voidhead23]

el-bo is pretty much correct, they don't really mean anything anymore. But i remember doing a little digging a while back and EP and LP seemed to refer to length, not track count. However, there are enough exceptions (short punk albums or maxi-singles) to justify ignoring the idea entirely. In my mind, an EP is something not considered by the artist as a cohesive statement, more a jumble of related material (some originals, a remix or two, live version, outtake, etc.). An album is one complete thought.

i think, back in the day, an LP was between 30-45 minutes of music. An EP was anything under that with at least four tunes. Everything was based around the single being the intended format, and then you had an extended play or long play format.