Finding Songs

What Is an EP? How Many Songs and How Long (and What a Debut EP Means)

By the Starchild Music team · November 13, 2026 · 6 min read

A sunlit wooden table with three stacks of record sleeves of different heights, one sleeve alone, a short stack of five and a tall stack, with a turntable beside them and a window full of morning light behind

The short answer

An EP, short for extended play, is a release longer than a single and shorter than an album. Apple Music treats four to six songs running 30 minutes or less as an EP, and a debut EP is an artist's first one. Stores, charts and awards use different cutoffs, so count your songs and minutes before you give the release a name.

An EP, short for extended play, is a release longer than a single and shorter than an album. There is no single rule, but the most common one is four to six songs running 30 minutes or less, which is how Apple Music sorts releases. A debut EP is simply an artist's first EP.

This is also a good week to ask. Nominations for the 69th Grammy Awards will be announced on Monday, November 16, and the Recording Academy counts albums by its own rules. Below is how stores, distributors, charts and awards each count an EP, with a worked example, so you can name your release correctly.

Where the word comes from

CD Baby's guide says the name comes from physical records: an EP held more music than a standard vinyl single, but less than a long-playing record, or LP. Streaming kept the idea, not a single rule. A 2019 Spotify for Artists post says the RIAA defines an EP as three to five tracks or under 30 minutes, and that streaming makes the definition "a little murkier."

How Apple Music counts

Apple publishes exact rules in its Apple Music Style Guide:

Single: one to three songs that are less than 10 minutes each.
EP: four to six songs with a total running time of 30 minutes or less. Or one to three songs where one is at least 10 minutes long and the total is 30 minutes or less.
Album: Apple's guide describes it as a collection of tracks. CD Baby's guide says seven or more tracks, or a running time above 30 minutes, puts a release in the album category.

Apple adds "- Single" or "- EP" to the title if you leave it off, and videos are not counted as songs. So three four-minute songs make a single on Apple, even if you call them an EP.

Where the distributor guides differ

Distributor guides add Spotify. CD Baby gives it as four to six tracks under 30 minutes. Amuse says the rules differ a bit on Spotify: a release is a single or EP if it runs under 30 minutes and has five or fewer tracks, and an album at six or more. RouteNote says there is no set definition and that lengths vary between stores and distributors. CD Baby adds that streaming platforms apply their own classifications after delivery. We could not find a Spotify help page that states a cutoff.

The edge case is six songs: an EP on Apple, but possibly an album on Spotify. Check your distributor's preview before you submit.

How the charts count it

Charts use their own rules. The UK's Official Charts Company says its rules are set and reviewed on an ongoing basis, and its site links an August 2023 edition. In that edition a digital single bundle can run to 25 minutes and no more than four songs, plus alternative versions of featured songs. A digital album is one that runs over 25 minutes or has more than four songs, with some price conditions too. So, on length alone, a five-song EP counts as an album there, and a four-song EP of 20 minutes counts as a single.

Luminate, the music data company, defines a single as usually one to four tracks and an EP as a release longer than a single and shorter than an LP that may have no more than six tracks.

How the Grammys count it

The Recording Academy's rulebook for the 69th Grammy Awards does not use the word EP. It defines a single as a song released separately from an album. It says a release qualifies as an album with at least five tracks (different songs, not different mixes) and a total playing time of at least 15 minutes, or with any number of tracks if the playing time is at least 30 minutes. Eligibility for those awards ran from August 31, 2025 to August 28, 2026. If you plan to enter a short release in a future year, read that year's rulebook and ask the Academy how it handles it.

A worked example

Here is an invented one. You have five songs of about 3 minutes 40 seconds each, 18 minutes 20 seconds in all.

Apple Music: four to six songs and under 30 minutes, so an EP.
UK Official Charts: more than four songs, so an album.
Grammy rules: five songs and more than 15 minutes, so it meets the album definition.
Spotify: an EP by CD Baby's guide, and a single or EP by Amuse's five-or-fewer rule.

Same five songs, several labels. Cut one song and you have four songs and about 14 minutes 40 seconds: still an EP on Apple, but a single on the UK chart and short of the Grammy album definition. The label that matters most is the one on the store where your fans listen, so start there and treat the rest as context.

What "debut" adds

Debut means first. Wiktionary defines it as a performer's first public performance, or the first public presentation of a work. So a debut EP is an artist's first EP. It does not have to be the first thing they ever released, because an artist can put out singles before the first EP. A debut single is the first single, and a debut album is the first album.

Should your first release be an EP?

The 2019 Spotify for Artists post describes the EP as a lower-commitment release. It costs less and takes less time than a full-length, can sit between albums and works as a proving ground. That suits you when you have four to six songs that belong together. With one to three songs, call it a single. If you cannot name the thread that links your songs, release them one at a time.

Our guide to choosing songs for a debut EP covers the picking and the order. Choosing a song for your first single covers the other path, and the cost of releasing a single helps you budget.

A 60-second check before you submit

Count the songs. Videos do not count as songs on Apple.
Add up the minutes, and note your longest song.
Compare with Apple's rule: four to six songs, 30 minutes or less.
If you have exactly six songs, or about 30 minutes, check your distributor's preview for how each store will label it.
Put "EP" in the title only if the stores will treat it as one. Apple adds the tag itself.

Three mistakes to avoid

Calling a three-song release an EP. Apple will label it a single unless one song runs 10 minutes or more and the total is 30 minutes or less.
Adding a seventh song for the sake of it. On Apple, and in CD Baby's guide, that puts the release in the album category.
Expecting the same label everywhere. Stores, charts and awards each decide for themselves.

Building an EP from licensed songs

If you are assembling an EP from licensed songs, check that the set shares a mood and fits your voice. On Starchild, every song can be heard in different styles and voices before you license it, and you can change the key live, so you can test whether your shortlist sits well together in your range. Browse songs for artists to record.

Sources

Find a song to license

Every song on Starchild can be heard in different styles and in your key before you license it.

Songs to license Songs for artists to record Royalty-free songs Music licensing, explained

Keep reading

How to choose four to six songs for a debut EP How to choose a song for your first single How much does it cost to release a single?Songs for artists to record