LP versus EP

Long Play Vinyl Records (LPs)

LPs, short for “Long Play,” are the most common type of vinyl record on the market. LPs are the full albums you find at the record store, packed inside a paper sleeve within a cardboard jacket.

An LP record is 12 inches in diameter and spins at 33 1/3 RPM. The playing time on an LP is up to 30 minutes per side. LPs offer the most play time per side of any vinyl record format.

Singles and Extended Play Vinyl Records (EPs)

Singles and Extended Play albums are practically the same. Both are 7″ in diameter and play at 45 rotations per minute.

7 inch vinyl records were introduced in 1949 as a replacement for 78s and were originally called “singles” because they could fit only a single song per side – about 4 minutes.

A few years later, the EP or Extended Play 7″ vinyl record was made available. In contrast, the EP was able to hold just over 7 minutes of music per side. They accomplished this feat by narrowing the width of the grooves on the 7″ album.

Since the EP held more than a single track per side, the term “single” no longer applied. Furthermore, with the rise of DJs and dance music in the 1970s, vinyl records of other sizes, namely 12 inch albums, began to be produced with only one song per side – still very common with rap music instrumentals. That said, record collectors will often refer to all 7″ formats – singles and extended play records – under the larger moniker of 45s.