What does releasing an EP mean?

well there is this band i like called "joe carnall & the bok club" well they released an ep and i bought it (on i tunes) and now i'm going to see them in stoke. anyway does releasing an ep mean you have any backing at all and are likely to be funded? there was this band before that release loads of eps before they released their album does that mean that anyone can release an ep and it doesn't imply they will make it big any time soon?