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How Many Songs Should A Rap EP Have?

A standard Rap EP should have 3 to 6 songs. Just like most genres. The number of songs on your EP will depend on the length of the songs you plan to put on it.

If you have longer songs, you can go for around 3 to 4 songs on your rap EP. On the hand, if you have shorter songs including skits you can have not more 6 tracks on your EP.

This basic way of reasoning should be your guide when planning an EP release. It can help you plan how much material to record.

An EP has to generally consist of music with a duration that doesn’t go over 30 minutes. This should be another guiding principle when figuring out how many tracks to put on your EP.

You could decide to release an EP with 3 songs that are 8-10 minutes long or 5 songs that are 4 minutes long, it’s really up to you…. but the general rule of thumb is that an EP should less than 30 minutes and longer than 10 minutes.

With that said, let’s get into the general definition of what an EP is aswell as what it is made up of.

What is an EP?

EP stands for Extended play, which is a short project that consists of a few songs, around 3 to 6. The general duration of EPs is below 30 minutes and above 10 minutes.

Some of the most popular genres like EDM usually have artist’s that release a lot of EPs.

Most of these EPs are around 20 minutes with 3 or 4 tracks.

Rap EPs on the other hand have evolved. Mostly because they tend to have skits and very short songs that are usually under 2 minutes in duration.

You may be wondering what a Skit is.

Hiphop skits are generally a form of sketch comedy or dialogue which may sometimes contain musical elements usually recorded and performed by the rapper or other people.

They are usually meant to give the listener a little break from the music. And in other instances can be created to share a message or dialogue necessary for the project.

Most rap albums do have skits.

Skits are not limited to EPs only. But, they are common on unofficial projects that are not meant be of full length  like LPs or albums.

You can find skits mostly on mixtapes and EPs.

Singles

Now that we have streaming platforms and digital stores that are the primary distribution platforms, that accept our music and make it available for listeners.

They are responsible for categorising our releases.

A release can be categorized as a Single, EP or album.

This section of the article will discuss what a single is because it can easily be mistaken for an EP.

What is generally considered a single is a project with 1 to 3 tracks… each with a duration less than 10 minutes.

Therefore what differentiates a single from an EP is matter of duration and the number of tracks on it.

An album is supposed to have upwards of 6 tracks with a total duration of more than 30 minutes. An EP is 6 tracks or less with a total duration of loner than 10 minutes but less than 30 minutes.

A single is a single or multiple tracks with a duration shorter than 10 minutes.

How to make your EP Stand out

Song selection

Ensure that you record and select good songs that can make a good impression on your intended audience.

The mistake that you would make as a rapper is undermining the amount of work you have to put in, in order to create a worthy EP.

Yes, an EP is a short project.

But that shouldn’t take away the quality that you provide with it.

Therefore select great songs if you have pre-recorded material.

If you don’t, record some great records that could just a swell be of the same quality as the material you would generally put on album.

6 songs or less

Make sure to put not more than 6 tracks on your EP because you don’t want your fans or online stores considering it an album or LP.

Save your extra material for your next release.

An EP is meant to be a short project, with a few tracks preferably longer than the usual.

Therefore create some good quality tracks possibly 3 to 6, and present them to your fans.

Bonus tracks

Include bonus tracks to make your EP more appealing and have your audience eager to listen to it.

You can harness the power of giving out bonus tracks as a way to entice your audience to buy your EP.

The fact is, people like freebies. If you have any marketing experience of any sort, you already know this.

Bonus tracks are a great way of providing additional free content that lure your audience into buying your EP.

The power of a confident release

The final step after creating the music, selecting the tracks you intend to have on the EP and packaging it adequately…..  is to now release your offering to your audience.

The common mistake that most artist’s make is that they lack confidence in their releases which makes their releases become stagnant with regard to sales and streams.

You should realise that the secret to putting out any project such as an EP is to have confidence in it and value it with that confidence.

Set the price, don’t underestimate the value of your hard work because people will more than likely over look it.

However, if you do your marketing right and attach the right value to your EP. It will do well.

Conclusion

A rap EP is a great way to promote and market your music. EPs can be used as an effective way to promote an album and therefore boost your sales and streams.

Which is why it’s important to create a good enough EP that can market itself and provide enough value to your audience.

People respond to value by providing their own value which is what you want because it will result in gains of various sorts.

A Rap EP should consist of 3 to 6 songs with a duration under 30 minutes and over 10 minutes.

It has to be considerably short enough to leave your fans wanting more and long enough to make a lasting impression.

How Many Songs Should A Rap EP Have?
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