A mini-LP or mini-album is a short record

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

or LP, usually retailing at a lower price than an album that would be considered full-length. It is distinct from an EP due to containing more tracks and a slightly longer running length. A mini-LP is not to be confused with the Japanese CDs issued in a " mini LP sleeve" or "paper jacket". Its running time is shorter than the typical

but longer than a

single album In music, a single is a type of release of a song recording of fewer tracks than an album ( LP), typically one or two tracks. A single can be released for sale to the public in a variety of physical or digital formats. Singles may be standa ...

. It is sometimes synonymous with extended play, especially in East Asia music market. However, some music distributors may classify mini albums with 7 or more songs as an album. In the United States,

The Recording Academy National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. (NARAS), doing business as The Recording Academy, is an American Learned society, learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is widely kno ...

's rules for

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

s state that an

must comprise a minimum total playing time of 15 minutes with at least five distinct tracks or a minimum total playing time of 30 minutes with no minimum track requirement. In the United Kingdom, the criteria for the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

is that a recording counts as an "album" if it either has more than four tracks or lasts more than 25 minutes.

East Asia music market

In South Korea, a mini album () is a promotional term for a release that has less of a budget than a "full album". A mini album can also be called an EP. A release that has an expensive budget (excluding music video production cost) is called a "full album", also known as a

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

. In some instances, a mini-LP is also called a full album, although it only has 6 or 7 tracks. An example would be ''

Face The face is the front of the head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may affect th ...

'' by

Jimin Park Ji-min (; born October 13, 1995), known mononymously as Jimin, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, and dancer. In 2013, he made his debut as a member of the South Korean boy band BTS, under the record label Big Hit Entertainment. Jim ...

. This also applies to Japanese releases by South Korean artists. In some cases, artists have used the chronological placement of a mini album in their discography as part of the title of the release. For example, '' 2NE1 1st Mini Album'' and '' Taste of Love: The 10th Mini Album'' (note that both are considered EPs, not mini-LPs).

History

Mini-LPs became popular in the early 1980s with record companies targeting consumers who were reluctant to buy full-length and full-priced albums.Grein, Paul (1982) "Retailers, Labels Predict Greater Role for Mini-LPs", ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'', 30 October 1982, p. 1, 67 Several mini-LPs had been released in the late 1970s, including

John Cooper Clarke John Cooper Clarke (born 25 January 1949) is an English performance poet and comedian who styled himself as a "punk poet" in the late 1970s. In the 1970s and early 1980s, he released several albums and performed on stage with punk and post-punk ...

's ''

Walking Back to Happiness ''Walking Back to Happiness'' is the third album by John Cooper Clarke, originally released on 10" clear vinyl in 1979,Gimarc, George (2005) ''Punk Diary: The Ultimate Trainspotter's Guide to Underground Rock 1970-1982'', Backbeat Books, , p. 215 The format was usually 12-inch or 10-inch

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...

, with a playing time of between twenty and thirty minutes, and around seven tracks.Strong, Martin C. (2002) ''The Great Rock Discography, 6th edition'', Canongate, They were often used as a way of introducing new acts to the market or as a way of releasing interim albums by established acts between their main albums.

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

introduced the 10-inch ''Nu-Disk'' format in the early 1980s (an example being

Cheap Trick Cheap Trick is an American rock band formed in Rockford, Illinois in 1970 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. Their work bridged elements of '60s pop rock, guitar pop, '70s har ...

's 1980 release '' Found All the Parts''), but they found it difficult to merchandise, and 12-inch mini-LPs became more common. Notable mini-LPs of the early 1980s included U2's ''

Under a Blood Red Sky ''Under a Blood Red Sky'' is a live mini-album by Irish rock band U2, produced by Jimmy Iovine and released on 21 November 1983. The record's eight tracks were compiled from three concerts during the group's 1983 War Tour, including two son ...

'', which reached number 2 on the

in 1983,U2 - Under a Blood Red Sky
Chart Stats, retrieved 15 December 2009 and

The Honeydrippers The Honeydrippers were an English rock and roll band of the 1980s. Former Led Zeppelin lead singer Robert Plant formed the group in 1981 to satisfy his long-time goal of having a rock band with a heavy rhythm and blues basis. Formed originally ...

' ''

Volume 1 Volume One, Volume 1, Volume I or Vol. 1 may refer to: Albums * ''Volume One'' (The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band album), 1966 * ''Volume One'' (Sleep album) * ''Volume One'' (Fluff album) * ''Volume One'' (She & Him album), 2008 * ''Volum ...

'', which reached number 4 on the ''Billboard'' 200 in 1984.Denberg, Jody (1985) "Dancing in the Streets", ''

Texas Monthly ''Texas Monthly'' (stylized as ''TexasMonthly'') is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Downtown Austin, Texas. Founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy, ''Texas Monthly'' chronicles life in contemporary Texas, writing on politics, the Natura ...

'', December 1985, p. 198

Independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...

s often released mini-LPs by artists before releasing full-length albums. In 1987, 4AD took this approach with both

Pixies Pixies may refer to: * Plural of Pixie * Pixies (band) The Pixies are an American alternative rock band from Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1986 by Black Francis (vocals, rhythm guitar, songwriter), Joey Santiago (lead guitar), Kim ...

debut ''

Come on Pilgrim ''Come On Pilgrim'' is the debut mini-album by the American alternative rock band Pixies, released on September 28, 1987, on 4AD. Produced by Gary Smith, the release consists of eight tracks from a seventeen-song recording session that the ...

'' and the second album by

Throwing Muses Throwing Muses are an American alternative rock band formed in 1981 in Newport, Rhode Island, United States, that toured and recorded extensively until 1997, when its members began concentrating more on other projects. The group was original ...

, ''

The Fat Skier ''The Fat Skier'' is a mini-album by Throwing Muses, released on 6 July 1987 on the 4AD label in the UK and licensed to Sire Records in the US.Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 546 It played at 33 ⅓ RP ...

''.Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, In 1997,

Aphex Twin Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), known professionally as Aphex Twin, is a British musician, composer and DJ active in electronic music since 1988. His idiosyncratic work has drawn on many styles, including techno, ambient music, ambi ...

released the ''Come to Daddy'' EP, which he considers to be an album/mini-album rather than an EP. It reached number 37 on the US ''Billboard'' Heatseekers Albums chart. In 2018,

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

spearheaded an effort to release five mini-albums from five different artists in five weeks. He led the release of '' Daytona'' by

Pusha T Terrence LeVarr Thornton (born May 13, 1977), better known by his stage name Pusha T, is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as one half of the Virginia-based hip hop duo Clipse, which he formed with his older brother No Malice, Malice. M ...

, '' Ye'' by Kanye West, ''

Kids See Ghosts Kids See Ghosts (stylized in all caps) were an American hip hop superduo composed of rappers Kanye West and Kid Cudi. Formed during West's 2018 Wyoming sessions, the duo's first album ''Kids See Ghosts'' was released in June of that year by ...

'' by

(a project consisting of Kanye West and

Kid Cudi Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi (born January 30, 1984), also known by his stage name Kid Cudi ( ; formerly stylized as KiD CuDi), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and fashion designer. Born and raised in Clevelan ...

), ''

Nasir Nasir () is a masculine given name, commonly found in Arabic which can mean "helper" or "one who gives victory" (grammatically the Stem I masculine singular active participle of consonantal verb root ''n-ṣ-r''). The female form of the name is ...

'' by

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air (S ...

and ''

K.T.S.E. ''K.T.S.E.'' (an initialism of ''Keep That Same Energy'') is the second studio album by American recording artist Teyana Taylor, released on June 22, 2018, by GOOD Music and Def Jam Recordings. Following the release of ''VII (Teyana Taylor alb ...

'' by

Teyana Taylor Teyana Me Shay Jacqueli Taylor (born December 10, 1990) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, model, dancer, choreographer, and music video director. After choreographing the video for Beyoncé's 2006 single " Ring the Alarm," she signed ...

. Other examples include

King Crimson King Crimson were an English progressive rock band formed in London in 1968 by Robert Fripp, Michael Giles, Greg Lake, Ian McDonald (musician), Ian McDonald and Peter Sinfield. Guitarist Fripp remained the only constant member throughout the ...

's '' Vrooom'' (1994), Robyn's '' Body Talk Pt. 1'' and '' Pt. 2'' (2010), Young Ejecta's '' The Planet'' (2015) and

Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * Young Eisner Scholars, in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, and Appalachia, US * Young Ep ...

' ''

From a Page From may refer to: People * Isak From (born 1967), Swedish politician * Martin Severin From (1825–1895), Danish chess master * Sigfred From (1925–1998), Danish chess master Media * ''From'' (TV series), a sci-fi-horror series that debu ...

'' (2019), with more recent examples including Itzy's '' Born to Be'' (2024), Hannah Grae's ''Hell Is a Teenage Girl'' (2023) and ''Nothing Lasts Forever'' (2024), and '' Exotic Birds of Prey'' by

Shabazz Palaces Shabazz Palaces is an American hip hop group from Seattle led by Ishmael Butler a.k.a. Palaceer Lazaro (formerly Butterfly of jazz rap group Digable Planets). Much of Butler's work as Shabazz Palaces has been made in collaboration with multi ...

(2024).

References

{{Reflist Album types Audio storage Recorded music