EP vs Album vs Single: Track Counts and Length Rules (2026)
An EP is 4 to 6 tracks and 30 minutes or less; an album is 7+ tracks or over 30 minutes. Spotify and Apple Music rules compared, plus a free checker.
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An EP (extended play) is a release of 4 to 6 tracks that runs 30 minutes or less. An album has 7 or more tracks or runs longer than 30 minutes. A single is 1 to 3 tracks: on Spotify, 30 minutes or less in total; on Apple Music, every song under 10 minutes. Spotify and Apple Music both use these lines, but they apply them a little differently, and that decides how your release is labeled in the app.
The rules side by side
Checked October 22, 2026.
| Spotify | Apple Music | |
|---|---|---|
| Single | 3 tracks or fewer, 30 minutes or less in total | 1 to 3 songs, each under 10 minutes |
| EP | 4 to 6 tracks, 30 minutes or less in total | 4 to 6 songs, 30 minutes or less in total; or 1 to 3 songs with one at least 10 minutes long, 30 minutes or less in total |
| Album | Anything longer: more than 6 tracks or more than 30 minutes | Anything that isn't a single or an EP |
| Can the artist choose another type? | Yes. 3 tracks or fewer can go out as an EP, 4 to 6 tracks as a single, and a release over 6 tracks or 30 minutes as a single or EP, if the artist or label wants | No choice is described: a release that meets the criteria "must be identified" as a single or EP |
| "Single" or "EP" in the title | Not allowed, unless it was part of the original title | "- Single" or "- EP" goes at the end of the title; Apple adds it if it's missing |
Sources: Spotify Music Metadata Style Guide v2.2, section 9 (September 2022) and Apple Music Style Guide, sections 3.3 and 3.4. Apple notes that videos are not counted as songs.
Neither guide says "album" in so many words: it's what a release is when it isn't a single or an EP. Spotify's guide adds two details. A release that is one track in several versions (a song and its remixes, say) is a single unless the artist or label calls it an EP (9.4). And if a release meets the criteria but isn't delivered as a single or EP, Spotify may display it as one anyway (9.5).
Spotify's own examples show how far the choice goes: its style guide lists a 7-track release, and an 8-track release over 30 minutes, as EPs, because the artist or label preferred to present them that way.
Where the two platforms disagree
The same release can get a different label on each service. Three cases come straight out of the rules above:
- Two songs, one of them 11 minutes long, 16 minutes in total. Apple Music must label it an EP, because one song is 10 minutes or longer. On Spotify, 2 tracks and 30 minutes or less is a single by default.
- Three songs you think of as a small project. On Spotify you can deliver it as an EP. On Apple Music, 3 songs under 10 minutes each is a single.
- Seven songs you want to call an EP. Spotify's guide allows it if that's how you present it. On Apple Music, more than 6 songs is an album.
You set the release type in your distributor's upload form. If a store later shows the wrong type, ask your distributor; whether and how they can change it varies.
Free tool: release type checker
Enter the number of tracks and the length of each one. The checker shows how Spotify's default rules and Apple Music's rules classify the release, flags where the two disagree, and tells you how far you are from the next type. It runs in your browser and stores nothing. If a song isn't recorded yet, estimate its length from its tempo and bars with the song length calculator.
Check your release type
Enter how many tracks and how long each one is. It's worked out in your browser; nothing is stored.
Fill in every length (like 3:30) to see the result.
From Spotify's Music Metadata Style Guide v2.2 (section 9) and Apple Music's Style Guide (3.3 and 3.4). Videos don't count as songs on Apple Music.
What about LP and mixtape?
LP stands for long play. Today it's used as another word for an album, and neither Spotify's nor Apple's style guide uses "LP" as a separate release type.
Mixtape isn't a release type on either platform. Neither style guide defines it, so on streaming services a mixtape is classified by the same track count and length rules: 4 to 6 tracks and 30 minutes or less shows up as an EP, longer shows up as an album. You can still call it a mixtape in your promotion.
The RIAA definition you will see quoted
Many articles say the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) defines an EP as 3 to 5 tracks or under 30 minutes. Spotify's own blog repeats that line (Spotify for Artists, "Jessie Reyez on the Art of the EP", July 15, 2019). We couldn't find that wording on the RIAA's own site, and it isn't what streaming services use to label releases. For how your release appears on Spotify or Apple Music, the style guides in the table above are what count.
Single, EP or album: what each one is for
Neither platform publishes data saying one format streams better than another, so this is about what each format asks of you and of your listeners:
- Single. One song gets all the attention: its own release day, its own pre-save, its own Spotify Canvas. It's the most work per song, but the easiest ask for a new listener.
- EP. A short set of songs that belong together. It's 30 minutes or less by definition, so a new listener can hear all of it in one sitting.
- Album. The longest commitment, for you and for listeners. It suits a body of work that needs the length.
A common approach is to release a few songs as singles first and then collect them on an EP or album. When you do, a recording reused without change, remix or remaster keeps the same ISRC on every release it appears on; telling the releases apart is the job of product codes like the UPC (ISRC Handbook, section A.8.4). More in what an ISRC code is.
Where does Loud fit?
Whatever the format, release day goes better when fans have one place to land: a page with your streaming links, a pre-save before the date and a sign-up for your fan list. We make Loud, which builds your website and link in bio from your music and makes that page on its own for every release, single, EP or album. See what a release page needs, how Spotify pre-saves work and the music release checklist for every date up to release day.
FAQ
How many songs are on an EP?
4 to 6, with a total length of 30 minutes or less. That's the default on both Spotify and Apple Music. On Apple Music, 1 to 3 songs can also be an EP when one of them is at least 10 minutes long.
How long is an EP?
30 minutes or less in total, on both Spotify and Apple Music.
How many songs make an album?
7 or more tracks, or any release over 30 minutes. On Spotify an artist or label can still choose to deliver a longer release as an EP or a single.
Is 3 songs an EP or a single?
By default it's a single on both platforms. On Spotify you can deliver it as an EP if that's what you intend. On Apple Music it's an EP only if one of the songs is at least 10 minutes long and the total is 30 minutes or less.
What is the difference between an EP and an LP?
LP means long play and is used today as another word for an album. An EP is the shorter format: 4 to 6 tracks, 30 minutes or less.
Is a mixtape an EP or an album?
Streaming platforms don't have a mixtape type. They classify it by track count and length like any other release.
