Mini-LP

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Short vinyl record album or LP

title: "Mini-LP" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["album-types", "audio-storage", "recorded-music"] description: "Short vinyl record album or LP" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mini-LP" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Short vinyl record album or LP ::

A mini-LP or mini-album is a short record album 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 album but longer than a single album. 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's rules for Grammy Awards state that an album 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 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. 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 by Jimin. 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. Several mini-LPs had been released in the late 1970s, including John Cooper Clarke's Walking Back to Happiness, which used the 10-inch format. The format was usually 12-inch or 10-inch vinyl, with a playing time of between twenty and thirty minutes, and around seven tracks. 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 introduced the 10-inch Nu-Disk format in the early 1980s (an example being Cheap Trick'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, which reached number 2 on the UK Albums Chart in 1983, and The Honeydrippers' Volume 1, which reached number 4 on the Billboard 200 in 1984.

Independent record labels often released mini-LPs by artists before releasing full-length albums. In 1987, 4AD took this approach with both Pixies debut Come on Pilgrim and the second album by Throwing Muses, The Fat Skier.

In 1997, Aphex Twin 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 spearheaded an effort to release five mini-albums from five different artists in five weeks. He led the release of Daytona by Pusha T, Ye by Kanye West, Kids See Ghosts by Kids See Ghosts (a project consisting of Kanye West and Kid Cudi), Nasir by Nas and K.T.S.E. by Teyana Taylor.

Other examples include King Crimson's Vrooom (1994), Robyn's Body Talk Pt. 1 and Pt. 2 (2010), Young Ejecta's The Planet (2015) and Yes' From a Page (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 (2024).

References

References

  1. (2012-05-04). "미니앨범? EP앨범? 제대로 알고 듣자-!!".
  2. "SuperM: The 1st Mini Album - SuperM {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits {{!}} AllMusic".
  3. "[&] by LOONA".
  4. (14 June 2017). "Recording Academy™ to Transition to Online Voting for the 60".
  5. (January 2007). "Rules For Chart Eligibility – Albums". [[The Official UK Charts Company]].
  6. Benjamin, Jeff. (2024-07-08). "The 20 Best K-Pop Albums of 2024 (So Far): Staff Picks".
  7. Yaman, Daphne. (2023-05-31). "Non-Stop K-Pop: K-Pop and U.S. release frequencies just aren’t the same".
  8. (2023-06-11). "7 Types of Kpop Albums: Ultimate Guide for New Fans - Cute Frog Creations".
  9. Grein, Paul (1982) "Retailers, Labels Predict Greater Role for Mini-LPs", ''[[Billboard (magazine). Billboard]]'', 30 October 1982, p. 1, 67
  10. Gimarc, George (2005) ''Punk Diary: The Ultimate Trainspotter's Guide to Underground Rock 1970-1982'', Backbeat Books, {{ISBN. 0-87930-848-6, p. 215
  11. Strong, Martin C. (2002) ''The Great Rock Discography, 6th edition'', Canongate, {{ISBN. 1-84195-312-1
  12. [https://www.officialcharts.com/archive/official-albums-chart/ U2 - Under a Blood Red Sky], Chart Stats, retrieved 15 December 2009
  13. Denberg, Jody (1985) "Dancing in the Streets", ''[[Texas Monthly]]'', December 1985, p. 198
  14. Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, {{ISBN. 1-84195-335-0
  15. "Aphex Twin Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)".
  16. Shah, Neil. (2018-06-18). "Shorter, Better, Faster, Stronger? Kanye West Tries Minialbums". Wall Street Journal.
  17. "Hannah Grae announces mini album, Nothing Lasts Forever".
  18. "SHABAZZ PALACES SHARES "MYTHS OF THE OCCULT (FEAT. JAPREME MAGNETIC)" A NEW TRACK FROM EXOTIC BIRDS OF PREY".
  19. "Review: Body Talk".
  20. (31 December 2023). "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time".
  21. "ITZY's New Mini-Album 'Born to Be' Has Arrived: Stream It Now".

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