EPs or Album?

Scopata

Junior Member
What are your thoughts on releasing an EP to an album? Do you prefer one over the other?
 
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Well, I dont know what the timing is for your band and its budding fanbase, but if things are beginning to heat up, I think you strike while the iron is hot and release an EP now to keep that fan base and begin building more of a fan base. When the rest of the songs are mixed and ready for release, you put out the album "with extra bonus tracks". If you are lucky you get people to buy the EP and then they buy the album for the bonus stuff. Honestly, in todays society you may only get single songs purchased/downloaded and this fuss over EP vs album is a moot point because no one will buy either of these options. But Im not a record producer so my advise may make no sense.
 
Or given that people don't really buy *records* anymore, you could release songs at a time online, which is simplicity itself to do. You can build up quite a bit of buzz depending on how you release the songs, one a week or one a day over a week, etc. Look at the great buzz built up by Weird Al over the release of his latest album by releasing a music video a day the week prior.

If you haven't got a record deal with a major label, there's no good reason to tie yourself to their business models.
 
Concur. Multiple EPs > One full album.

More records = more merch to sell, which means more earning opportunities for you.

You can price them lower than a full album, but still maintain margin. Look at it this way: If you have one album at GPB15, people will buy it. If you release 3 EPs and sell 'em at a tenner each, people will buy more. As you note, some will buy only one. But others will buy all, certainly more than would buy the full-length album. People are more willing to take a chance on a lower price. Better to get a tenner out of someone vs. nowt. Also, from the person who wants all your tracks on disc, you've just gotten 30 quid instead of 15. That's a no-brainer.

Also, as Al notes, put the songs on iTunes at 0.99 a pop. People will buy them.

Your audience will be confused anyway. You can't stop it. People, including me, are generally idiots who should be in some sort of home. The more quickly entrepreneurs realize that, the more successful they are. ;-D That said, do reduce confusion. Don't put the same song(s) on different EPs. Each EP should contain its own material.

Same goes for the eventual LP. Don't put EP stuff on the LP unless the EP stuff has been significantly reworked, like a live track or something. Each recording should contain its own material.

You have a point about it being easier to market an album in 'traditional' routes. Trouble is those routes are pretty much pointless. Nobody waits for reviews anymore. They see something trending on social media and go buy it from iTunes if they like it. If someone hears you play live and likes you, sell 'em an EP. (NB: If you're not selling merch at your live gigs, correct that oversight. Also, don't just set up a box of CDs and hope people buy 'em. Sell them from the bandstand; ask for the sale. Forgive me if I'm lecturing you on something you already know. ;-D )

As for tracks working together as an album, I can't say many people really give a tinker's damn. I certainly don't. Not unless it's a prog-rock album which tells a story, like Rush's 2112 or something, which can't really be released except as an album, even though certain songs are capable of standalone airplay. If your argument is that some of the songs can hold together into an album, that doesn't really cut it in my opinion. It's not essential they be released as an album.

If you haven't got a record deal with a major label, there's no good reason to tie yourself to their business models.

That was worth repeating. ;-)

Anyway, I hope I made at least some sense. Good luck to you!
 
More insight and ideas after a shower and another cup of joe:

- Hand out business cards at gigs with QR codes to wherever you are selling your mp3s online. Maybe they can be redeemable for one random song off the "EP". Thsi will have the side effect of potentially boosting your live crowds.
- Put the QR codes on flyers too.
- Get the tracks on a Facebook page.
- If you do decide to do physical CDs use an online store to sell them as well.

The sky's the limit, and you will have the freedom to decide how you sell yourselves. It's actually a far better situation than being tied to a label, because you get to run the show and maximize profit. Later on, perhaps a label can help distribute to a larger market, but if your business is run cannily, there's not even really a need to do that -- you can pretty much be your own label. And there's precedent for that too.

Best of luck to you guys.
 
I'm with Aaron here. Release single songs via the internet and create a buzz. If you want to release an EP with a small collection of songs, then just release that on vinyl. That'll get you alot of fans from what I've been seeing with the resurgence of vinyl records.

Jojo Mayer and Nerve have just been releasing stuff online and I think it's doing really well for them. I bought it ;)
 
I have quite a bit of insight into this as my band just released a full length LP. Our reason for doing so was that it is something we always wanted to do. Releasing an album with the full artwork, liner notes, etc. was a terrible business decision, but it was one of the coolest things I have ever done, so it was worth it. However, a few things I learned.

Nobody buys physical copies of anything anymore. So go through somebody like CD Baby to press the EP's and they will get you on spotify, google play, itunes, etc, where people actually go to listen to music.

Get on youtube, reverbnation, bandcamp, soundcloud, etc. It is impossible to monitize music at a small level so just put it out there for the world to hear. Sell CD's and merch at your gigs. If people like what they hear they will go to the shows and that is where you make your money.

Dont worry about things like singles and releases. That is an antiquated business model. Its not like you are making videos for MTV or sending singles to radio stations. Just put it out there. You may think that song A is your "single" but everybody else may like song B. Let the people hear what you have to offer and hope that they like it.
 
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