Wikipedia:Notability (music)

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This page provides a guideline of how the concept of notability applies to topics related to music, including artists and bands, albums, and songs.

Important note: Failing to satisfy the notability guidelines is not a criterion for speedy deletion. However, an article on an artist or band that does not indicate that the subject of the article is important or significant can be speedily deleted under criterion A7. A mere claim of significance, even if contested, may avoid speedy deletion under A7, requiring a full Proposed deletion or Articles for Deletion process to determine if the article should be included in Wikipedia.

Many who spend significant time improving Wikipedia's musical coverage feel that notability is required for a musical topic (such as a band or musical theatre group) to deserve an encyclopedia article. Please note that the failure to meet any of these criteria does not mean an article must be deleted; conversely, meeting any of these criteria does not mean that an article must be kept. These are merely rules of thumb used by some editors when deciding whether or not to keep an article that is on articles for deletion.

In order to meet Wikipedia's standards for verifiability and notability, the article in question must actually document that the criterion is true. It is not enough to make vague claims in the article or assert a band's importance on a talk page or AfD page– the article itself must document notability.

See also Notability (people) for notability guidelines for biography articles in general.

Criteria for musicians and ensembles

A musician or ensemble (note that this includes a band, singer, rapper, orchestra, DJ, musical theatre group, etc.) may be notable if it meets at least one of the following criteria:

1. Has been the subject of multiple, non-trivial, published works appearing in sources that are reliable and are independent from the musician or ensemble itself.
   • This criterion includes published works in all forms, such as newspaper articles, books, magazine articles, online versions of print media, and television documentaries except for the following:
     • Any reprints of press releases, other publications where the musician or ensemble talks about themselves, and all advertising that mentions the musician or ensemble, including manufacturers' advertising.
     • Works comprising merely trivial coverage, such as articles that simply report performance dates, release information or track listings, or the publications of contact and booking details in directories.
     • Articles in a school or university newspaper (or similar) would generally be considered trivial but should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
2. Has had a single or album on any country's national music chart.
3. Has had a record certified gold or higher in at least one country.
4. Has received non-trivial coverage in independent reliable sources of an international concert tour, or a national concert tour in at least one sovereign country.
5. Has released two or more albums on a major label or on one of the more important indie labels (i.e. an independent label with a history of more than a few years, and with a roster of performers, many of whom are notable).
6. Is an ensemble which contains two or more independently notable musicians, or is a musician who has been a member of two or more independently notable ensembles.
7. Has become one of the most prominent representatives of a notable style or the most prominent of the local scene of a city; note that the subject must still meet all ordinary Wikipedia standards, including verifiability.
8. Has won or been nominated for a major music award, such as a Grammy, Juno, Mercury, Choice or Grammis award.
9. Has won or placed in a major music competition.
10. Has performed music for a work of media that is notable, e.g. a theme for a network television show, performance in a television show or notable film, inclusion on a notable compilation album, etc. (But if this is the only claim, it is probably more appropriate to have a mention in the main article and redirect to that article. Read WP:BLP1E and WP:BIO1E for further clarifications)
11. Has been placed in rotation nationally by any major radio or music television network.
12. Has been a featured subject of a substantial broadcast segment across a national radio or TV network.

Note that members of notable bands are redirected to the band's article, not given individual articles, unless they have demonstrated individual notability for activity independent of the band, such as solo releases. Members of two notable bands are generally notable enough for their own article.

Criteria for composers and lyricists

For the Wikiproject, see Wikipedia:Composers.

For composers, songwriters, librettists or lyricists:

1. Has credit for writing or co-writing either lyrics or music for a notable composition.
2. Has written musical theatre of some sort (includes musicals, operas, etc) that was performed in a notable theatre that had a reasonable run as such things are judged in their particular situation and time.
3. Has had a work used as the basis for a later composition by a songwriter, composer or lyricist who meets the above criteria.
4. Has written a song or composition which has won (or in some cases been given a second or other place) in a major music competition not established expressly for newcomers.
5. Has been listed as a major influence or teacher of a composer, songwriter or lyricist that meets the above criteria.
6. Appears at reasonable length in standard reference books on his or her genre of music.

Where possible, composers or lyricists with insufficient verifiable material to warrant a reasonably detailed article should be merged into the article about their work. When a composer or lyricist is known for multiple works, such a merger may not be possible.

Others

For composers and performers outside mass media traditions:

1. Is cited in reliable sources as being influential in style, technique, repertory or teaching in a particular music genre.
2. Has been a significant musical influence on a musician or composer that qualifies for the above list.
3. Has established a tradition or school in a particular genre.
4. Has composed a number of melodies, tunes or standards used in a notable genre, or tradition or school within a notable genre.
5. Is frequently covered in publications devoted to a notable sub-culture.

Recordings

See also: Wikipedia:WikiProject Classical music/Guidelines § Notability of recordings

All articles on albums, singles or other recordings must meet the basic criteria at the notability guidelines, with significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject.

Albums

An album requires its own notability, and that notability is not inherited and requires independent evidence. That an album is an officially released recording by a notable musician or ensemble is not by itself reason for a standalone article. Conversely, an album does not need to be by a notable artist to require a standalone article if it meets the General notability guideline. Album articles with little more than a track listing may be more appropriately merged into the artist's main article or discography article, space permitting.

Singles

A single requires its own notability, and that notability is not inherited and requires independent evidence. That a single is an officially released recording by a notable musician or ensemble is not by itself reason for a standalone article.

Unreleased material

Unreleased material (including demos, mixtapes, bootlegs, promo-only recordings) is only notable if it has significant independent coverage in reliable sources.

In a few special cases, an unreleased album may qualify for an article if there is sufficient verifiable and properly referenced information about it—for example, Guns 'n Roses' 2008 album Chinese Democracy had an article as early as 2004. However, this only applies to a very small number of exceptionally high-profile projects — generally, an album should not have an independent article until its title, track listing and release date have all been publicly confirmed by the artist or their record label.

Articles and information about albums with confirmed release dates in the near future must be confirmed by reliable sources. Separate articles should not be created until there is sufficient reliably sourced information about a future release. For example, a future album whose article is titled "(Artist)'s Next Album" and consists solely of blog or fan forum speculation about possible titles, or songs that might be on the album, is a violation of Wikipedia is not a crystal ball and should be discussed only in the artist's article, and even then only if there is some verifiable information about it.

Songs

Most songs do not rise to notability for an independent article and should redirect to another relevant article, such as for the songwriter, a prominent album or for the artist who prominently performed the song. Songs that have been ranked on national or significant music charts, that have won significant awards or honors or that have been independently released as a recording by several notable artists, bands or groups are probably notable. Notability aside, a separate article on a song is only appropriate when there is enough verifiable material to warrant a reasonably detailed article; articles unlikely ever to grow beyond stubs should be merged to articles about an artist or album. If the artist associated with the work does not have an article, or if the artist's article has already been deleted, an article about a musical recording that does not indicate why its subject is important or significant is eligible for speedy deletion under criterion A9.

Traditional songs

Traditional songs (as well as tunes) will typically have a storied past and there will be an ample supply of lore, much of it in secondary sources such as music journals and academic articles from English, music and anthropology departments.

Beware of adding tidbits of knowledge you pick up from jam sessions if you can't find secondary sources. Wikipedia is an encyclopedia and as such personal knowledge, tendentious synthesis (WP:ORIGINALSYN and original research) are discouraged. Wikiversity and WikiBooks have different policies and may be more appropriate venues for those activities.

Concert tours

Concert tours are notable if they have received significant coverage in independent reliable sources. Such coverage might show notability in terms of artistic approach, financial success, relationship to audience, or other such terms. Sources which merely establish that a tour happened are not sufficient to demonstrate notability. Tours which cannot be sufficiently referenced in 3rd party sources should be covered in a section on the artist's page rather than creating a dedicated article. One tour which meets notability standards does not make all tours associated with that artist notable. Michael Jackson's 1988 Bad World Tour is an example of a notable concert tour.

Resources

Good online sources for recordings are the Freedb search engine or the Allmusic search engine. To find ownership information on song texts copyrighted in the US, the ASCAP ACE Title Search and BMI Repertoire Search utilities are invaluable. When looking in depth, a Google book search may turn something up. For material that has captured the attention of academics, a search on Google scholar may work.

An experienced editor also provides a guide on ensuring that articles meet criteria.

If the subject is not notable

Further information: [[:WP:FAILN]]

Wikipedia should not have a separate article on a person, band, or musical work that does not meet the criteria of either this guideline or the general notability guideline, or any subject that, despite the person meeting the rules of thumb described above, for which editors ultimately cannot locate independent sources that provide in-depth information about the subject. Wikipedia's goal is neither tiny articles that can never be expanded nor articles based primarily on what the subjects say about themselves.

However, information about such subjects may be included in other ways in Wikipedia, provided that certain conditions are met. Material about a musician, group, or work that does not qualify for a separate, stand-alone can be preserved by adding it into relevant articles if it:

• has the appropriate level of detail and significance for that article;
• avoids self-promotion; and
• includes information that can be verified through independent sources.

For example, material about individual members of a musical group are normally merged into larger articles about the group. Non-notable songs might be described in a discography or one of the many lists of songs. Appropriate redirects from the subject's name and entries in disambiguation pages should be created to help readers find such information.