This might not go for everyone, but as a listener, when new artists release an ‘EP’, I usually listen to them, enjoy them, but overall treat them as a stepping stone or a set of demos. I am never eager to return to an EP, even if I most enjoyed it. But this shouldn’t be true in 2025 where short bursts of entertainment are devoured and immensely preferred to long-form things you’ll have to sit down for. In addition, EPs can be wonderful listening experiences and often find creative ways to take you on a journey; their shortened format often means things can be more concise.
However, when an artist says something is ‘off their new EP’, there is an implication that the listener isn’t missing out on anything, as opposed to when they announce ‘This is from our new album.’ Because an album is grand! You’ll be left thinking, ‘How did I miss this? Better get listening!’
So here are things you should call your EPs instead. And if enough people adopt them, we will force streaming services to have a dedicated section for them.
1. Drop
Have you listened to Drake’s new drop?
This is already a term that is used widely for releases. It is often used as a colloquial form of release, usually for when an album or single is ‘dropping’. But calling an entire EP a drop is perfect, as it doesn’t reference anything about its size or carry any connotations of being makeshift, rustic or unfinished. A drop feels anticipated, professional and polished no matter how many tracks.
The only problems you may run into here is if an artist has a large back-catalogue. Maybe referencing a ‘drop’ from May 2012 would confuse people?
2. Bundle
This one is definitely weaker, as it usually refers to merch bundles in music discourse, but who knows? I think an artist saying ‘New bundle releasing next week!’ it could gain quite a lot of attention if it was adopted enough.
3. Set
I discovered this one because of how Soundcloud creates its URLs:
soundcloud.com/tellyeaters/sets/remote
And what a great idea! Ultimately, an EP is just a ‘set’ of tracks, and it adds a nice collectible element to the music. The only problem with this is that it could quite easily be confused with live sets. And live sets aren’t really that interesting to listen to unless they are really special to you (i.e you attended the concert or wish you could have).
Alas, if you add another word to it such as ‘dance set’, ‘groove set’, ‘set of bangers’, then Soundcloud’s early adoption of this term makes everything look really promising!
4. (Insert letter) P
EPs and LPs are ancient formats that we are still, for some reason, obeying. They used to be useful, but now they have settled back down and only really communicate however valuable an artist wants to make it seem. So let’s start with AP (awesome play, credit to Jack Wild), FP (Fun play), LCP (Life-changing play), DP (Dance play).
There are a lot of realistic problems with this one. They will initially be hard to understand and also can clash with existing acronyms.
5. Spurt
We are releasing a spurt on January 13th
I think we are reaching surreal territory now. But hear me out, an artist releasing a ‘spurt’ could easily convey a monumental stage in the artist’s growth! Growth spurt!
6. Plethora
Plethora is a really exciting word. Try saying it yourself. Plethora. Plethora. The only trouble is that it doesn’t really mean a collection of something, it means a range. So on a technical level, it doesn’t really translate. Nice word, though.
7. Roll
I think we are running out of good ones, but truthfully, any word will do.
8. Feature
I like the idea of releases being called feature because, like ‘drop’, it feels scalable. If your new ‘feature’ was just one song, no one would bat an eyelid. And if your new ‘feature’ was a 20 track ambient album, that would be great too. It depends on whether we are trying to replace ‘EP’ or create a new universal word for release (which ‘release’ already does the job for to be honest, and this wasn’t supposed to just be a page of synonyms).
9. Make up your own word
Fabricate your own word completely for phonological effect. The same was done for the word ‘blurb’. Make yourself/your band have its own way of categorising releases. For example, if most streaming platforms sort artist pages like this:
Albums:
Singles & EPs:
Then fuck them off and sort your music your own way. Example:
Behemoths:
One-offs:
Bling-blangs:
Or how about:
Free-play:
Campaign:
DLC:
Who cares? Why go with an extinct format of sorting your music for the sake of the tradition? Digital music is the most recent form of music, yet it is only being used to mirror the culture of vinyl, which now serves no utility or purpose unless you like paying £40 for an inconvenient bit of plastic. (I love and collect vinyl by the way)
10. Mini album
All of the other ideas are great, but this is the sweet spot. By calling something a mini album, you are making it both appealing by being something small and digestive, and polished with high production-value. So please, release your mini album today, or drop, or set, and rethink everything anyone has ever told you about music. Peace out.
