{{Short description|Short vinyl record album or LP}} {{Use British English|date=January 2014}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2026}}
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.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2012-05-04|title=미니앨범? EP앨범? 제대로 알고 듣자-!!|url=https://koreancontent.kr/619|access-date=2021-07-04|website=한국콘텐츠진흥원 상상발전소}}</ref> It is sometimes synonymous with extended play, especially in East Asia music market.<ref>{{Citation|title=SuperM: The 1st Mini Album - SuperM {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits {{!}} AllMusic|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/superm-the-1st-mini-album-superm-mw0003314271|language=en|access-date=2021-07-04}}</ref> However, some music distributors may classify mini albums with 7 or more songs as an album.<ref>{{Citation|title=[&] by LOONA|url=https://music.apple.com/us/album/1574080252|language=en-US|access-date=2021-07-04}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.grammy.com/recording-academy/press-release/recording-academy-to-transition-to-online-voting-for-the-60th-annual|title=Recording Academy™ to Transition to Online Voting for the 60|date=14 June 2017|website=grammy.com|access-date=27 March 2018|archive-date=5 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190405220013/https://www.grammy.com/recording-academy/press-release/recording-academy-to-transition-to-online-voting-for-the-60th-annual|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 2007 |title=Rules For Chart Eligibility – Albums |url=http://www.theofficialcharts.com/docs/NEW_Album_Chart_Rules_2007_2.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070627231755/http://www.theofficialcharts.com/docs/NEW_Album_Chart_Rules_2007_2.pdf |archive-date=27 June 2007 |access-date=20 April 2007 |publisher=The Official UK Charts Company}}</ref>
== East Asia music market == In South Korea, a '''mini album''' ({{Korean|hangul=미니앨범}}) is a promotional term for a release that has a longer running time and more tracks than a single album but is shorter than a "full album" ({{Korean|hangul=정규앨범|labels=no}}), also known as a studio album.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kim |first1=Won-gyeom |script-title=ko:[그것이 알고 싶다] 미니앨범의 정체 |url=https://www.donga.com/news/Entertainment/article/all/20130403/54179077/5 |access-date=5 April 2026 |work=The Dong-A Ilbo |date=4 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260405004359/https://www.donga.com/news/Entertainment/article/all/20130403/54179077/5 |archive-date=5 April 2026 |language=ko |url-status=live |trans-title=Unanswered Questions: The Identity of the Mini Album}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Yoo |first1=Hye-eun |script-title=ko:음반 가격 왜 이렇게 비싸지?… 기획사 상술에 멍드는 팬心 |url=https://www.etoday.co.kr/news/view/886356 |access-date=5 April 2026 |work=E-Today |date=18 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102131917/https://www.etoday.co.kr/news/view/886356 |archive-date=2 January 2024 |language=ko |url-status=live |trans-title=Why Are Albums So Expensive? Fan Loyalty Bruised by Agency Marketing Gimmicks}}</ref> A mini album can also be called an EP.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Benjamin |first=Jeff |date=8 July 2024 |title=The 20 Best K-Pop Albums of 2024 (So Far): Staff Picks |url=https://www.billboard.com/lists/best-k-pop-albums-2024-so-far/zerobasone-you-had-me-at-hello/ |access-date=24 November 2024 |magazine=Billboard |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Yaman | first=Daphne| title=Non-Stop K-Pop: K-Pop and U.S. release frequencies just aren't the same | website=Daily Trojan | date=31 May 2023 | url=https://dailytrojan.com/2023/05/31/non-stop-k-pop-k-pop-and-u-s-release-frequencies-just-arent-the-same/ | access-date=20 August 2025}}</ref> In some instances, a mini album 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 Strawberry Milk's ''The 1st Mini Album''.
==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.<ref name="Billboard19821030">Grein, Paul (1982) "Retailers, Labels Predict Greater Role for Mini-LPs", ''Billboard'', 30 October 1982, p. 1, 67</ref> 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.<ref name="Gimarc">Gimarc, George (2005) ''Punk Diary: The Ultimate Trainspotter's Guide to Underground Rock 1970-1982'', Backbeat Books, {{ISBN|0-87930-848-6}}, p. 215</ref> The format was usually 12-inch or 10-inch vinyl, with a playing time of between twenty and thirty minutes, and around seven tracks.<ref name="Strong">Strong, Martin C. (2002) ''The Great Rock Discography, 6th edition'', Canongate, {{ISBN|1-84195-312-1}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Billboard19821030" /> 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.<ref name="Billboard19821030" /> 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,<ref name="CS">[https://www.officialcharts.com/archive/official-albums-chart/ U2 - Under a Blood Red Sky], Chart Stats, retrieved 15 December 2009</ref> and The Honeydrippers' ''Volume 1'', which reached number 4 on the ''Billboard'' 200 in 1984.<ref name="Strong" /><ref name="Denberg">Denberg, Jody (1985) "Dancing in the Streets", ''Texas Monthly'', December 1985, p. 198</ref>
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''.<ref name="StrongI">Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, {{ISBN|1-84195-335-0}}</ref>
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.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/aphex-twin/chart-history/tln/ |title=Aphex Twin Chart History (Heatseekers Albums) |magazine=Billboard |access-date=15 September 2024}}</ref>
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.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/shorter-better-faster-stronger-kanye-west-tries-minialbums-1529337558|title=Shorter, Better, Faster, Stronger? Kanye West Tries Minialbums|last=Shah|first=Neil|date=2018-06-18|work=Wall Street Journal|access-date=2018-09-18|language=en-US|issn=0099-9660}}</ref>
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).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hannah Grae announces mini album, Nothing Lasts Forever |url=https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/news/hannah-grae-announces-mini-album-nothing-lasts-forever |access-date=2024-02-05 |website=The Line of Best Fit |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=SHABAZZ PALACES SHARES "MYTHS OF THE OCCULT (FEAT. JAPREME MAGNETIC)" A NEW TRACK FROM EXOTIC BIRDS OF PREY |url=https://www.subpop.com/news/2024/02/05/shabazz_palaces_shares_myths_of_the_occult_feat_japreme_magnetic_a_new_track_from_exotic_birds_of_prey |website=Sub Pop Records |access-date=9 February 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Review: Body Talk |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14917-body-talk/ |website=Pitchfork |access-date=9 February 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-all-time-1062063/the-beatles-meet-the-beatles-2-1063036/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=31 December 2023 |access-date=9 February 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=ITZY's New Mini-Album 'Born to Be' Has Arrived: Stream It Now |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/itzy-new-album-born-to-be-stream-1235577868/ |magazine=Billboard |access-date=9 February 2024}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
Category:Album types Category:Audio storage Category:Recorded music