In this digital age, us music-makers are seeing the way music is shared and enjoyed change rapidly. The artifact itself is getting harder and harder to define, and the lines that separated your music collection from your computer have been erased. Further, the 'serving-size' of digital music has changed as well, and we found ourselves confused as to how to categorize our upcoming release, Summer's Dogs.
In the old days, when people bought music in stores, there were basically three types of releases. First, a single, typically had two songs, an A-side and a B-side (which carried over from the days of 45s). Second, an EP, or Extended Play, had 3-6 songs, and is still a favorite among independent bands releasing music, and big-time bands to release music that wasn't really good enough to go on their album. Third, the album itself, or LP/Long Player. These releases were more complete, and had 11, 12, or even 16 songs.
Our release has 8. Now, in the days of vinyl, you might be able to get away with calling it an LP, especially if your songs were longer, like Zeppelin's. But not today. So, in the spirit of the digital age, we came up with a fourth category called an iP, or Intermediate Play. We called it an 'in-between play' during the sessions.
The Summer's Dogs iP will be available soon as a digital download, or if you're feeling nostalgic, good' ole compact disc.
Cheers!