Template talk:AllMusic

Move template?
Should the template be moved to Template:AllMusic as well? GoingBatty (talk) 16:45, 17 November 2012 (UTC)
 * That would impose a redirect on all the transclusions of the template. benzband  ( talk ) 16:47, 17 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Why is that a problem? -- Red rose64 (talk) 17:20, 17 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Just wondering if the capitalization of the template name should match the capitalization of the article name. GoingBatty (talk) 17:47, 17 November 2012 (UTC)
 * I was just pointing out it's an extra redirect for the 78423 transclusions.
 * On the other hand, if AllMusic is correct then there shouldn't be a problem in changing the link to AllMusic or at least pipelinking it. If it is incorrect, then maybe the article should be moved.
 * This said, i'm just being a devil's advocate and have no opinion on the matter. benzband  ( talk ) 18:38, 17 November 2012 (UTC)
 * There are two sides to this.
 * There is basically no need to move a template purely on the grounds of changing the capitalisation or spelling. Moving the template creates server load since the link tables need to be amended. (I know of at least one former admin who would often move templates from  to   on purely stylistic grounds; their talk page often carried angry messages along the lines of "if you do that again I'll take you to WP:ANI"). Template names are not displayed to the reader, only the editor; and we're here for the readers.
 * There is no difference to the reader whether the template is used directly, or through a redirect; there is no difference to the editor either, except perhaps in typing time. Indeed, many commonly-used templates are often used in the redirected form: is much more common than the "real" template . WP:NOTBROKEN applies to templates as well as to articles; WP:CHEAP also applies, except to certain scripts and bots. It's not a killer, since there are definitely bots which handle redirects without problem.
 * What the template displays, and which article it links to, are two further questions, the second of which was the subject of the thread immediately above. I don't see any justification for capitalising the M on display, since the website http://www.allmusic.com/ does not capitalise the M - it doesn't even capitalise the A. -- Red rose64 (talk) 20:40, 17 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Yep. You're right and i didn't think it over properly before i posted that first comment. Though that doesn't address the second point, namely if AllMusic is wrong shouldn't it's article be moved? benzband  ( talk ) 21:24, 17 November 2012 (UTC)
 * The naming of the article (presently AllMusic) appears to be contentious - there are five entries in the move log: [//en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&type=move&page=All+Music+Guide All Music Guide → Allmusic 06:23, 17 March 2008]; [//en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&type=move&page=Allmusic&dir=prev&limit=1 Allmusic → AllMusic.com 00:55 24 June 2011]; [//en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&type=move&page=AllMusic.com AllMusic.com → AllMusic 21:40 24 June 2011]; [//en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&type=move&page=AllMusic AllMusic → Allmusic 22:25 30 June 2011]; [//en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&type=move&page=Allmusic&limit=1 Allmusic → AllMusic 02:42 29 July 2012], so is best discussed rather than WP:BOLDly altered. Regardless of that, such discussion is best carried out on its own talk page, not here. -- Red rose64 (talk) 22:49, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

Edit request on 15 January 2013
My name is Curtis Reynolds, I am the keyboard player for the group Ripple, also I do volcols, my name is not on site, I requested a change just want to make sure it is done, on the 1973 copy of the ripple album done by GRC records you will see my name is on the album, I am the founder of the group that is from Kalamazoo Michigan

Keyboardcurtis (talk) 11:46, 15 January 2013 (UTC)I hope this matter can be cleared up soon, if there are any questions that you need answered pleas contact me at keyboardcurtis9@gmail.com Thank You
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: this is the talk page for discussing improvements to the template . Please make your request at the talk page for the article concerned. -- Red rose64 (talk) 12:06, 15 January 2013 (UTC)
 * ✅ - I made the change to Ripple (band) based on your credits on the Ripple album at Allmusic. Please make all future requests for improving the article at Talk:Ripple (band). Thanks!  GoingBatty (talk) 01:12, 16 January 2013 (UTC)

Edit request on 24 July 2013
Following the to the camel-cased AllMusic, I think this template ought to be changed accordingly:

-- Michael Bednarek (talk) 04:35, 24 July 2013 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please establish a consensus for this alteration before using the template. Please see  above. -- Red rose64 (talk) 09:42, 24 July 2013 (UTC)
 * A move is unnecessary and I did not request it. I requested that the wikilink emitted by the template avoid the REDIRECT Allmusic and use the article's new name AllMusic. I know about WP:NOTBROKEN but I think that templates should be held to a higher standard. -- Michael Bednarek (talk) 05:32, 25 July 2013 (UTC)
 * ✅. Redirects are cheap but we don't need to force their use. De728631 (talk) 16:06, 25 July 2013 (UTC)

Template-protected edit request on 18 May 2014
196.201.217.38 (talk) 23:58, 18 May 2014 (UTC)
 * Red question icon with gradient background.svg Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format. — &#123;&#123;U&#124;Technical 13&#125;&#125; (t • e • c) 00:35, 19 May 2014 (UTC)

Citation template
I created a draft version of a citation template at User:Gadget850/cite allmusic. It is based on cite web so it has all the CS1 features including error checking. It supports the parameters of allmusic so it is quite simple to update. Comparison:

--  Gadget850talk 12:11, 20 September 2014 (UTC)
 * I don't know why Cite web emits website in italics; maybe it could be called with AllMusic? Further, was the linking of AllMusic omitted intentionally? -- Michael Bednarek (talk) 13:09, 20 September 2014 (UTC)
 * The web site is the main work, thus it is italicized— there have been multiple discussions on this and it follows the major style guides. The actual publisher is All Media Network, LLC, but it is not needed to identify this citation series. I added linking to AllMusic. --  Gadget850talk 13:37, 20 September 2014 (UTC)
 * You can easily combine allmusic and cite web using the pure_url parameter:


 * Cite web has always been rendering the "work" parameter in italics, which is correct, too. Whereas the  is most often different from the name of the work/product so this parameter gets displayed in normal font. De728631 (talk) 13:48, 20 September 2014 (UTC)

Requested move 18 May 2015

 * The following is a closed discussion of the proposal. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section. 

The result of the proposal was moved. --BDD (talk) 18:28, 1 June 2015 (UTC)

Template:Allmusic → Template:AllMusic – To match the main AllMusic article. Unreal7 (talk) 19:10, 18 May 2015 (UTC)
 * support there was a consensus to move the article from Allmusic to the current title at the talkpage so I don't see why fhe template should be any different.--67.68.29.125 (talk) 00:30, 19 May 2015 (UTC)


 * Oppose. We don't need branding-related cosmetics for a coding tool like a template whose name is not even shown in the article output. Keep it simple, keep it lower case. De728631 (talk) 18:16, 19 May 2015 (UTC)
 * Weak support since the template's functionality isn't affected either way. Steel1943  (talk) 01:36, 20 May 2015 (UTC)
 * Clear support. No reason at all why templates shouldn't have proper names. Per WP:TMP, "Template names are easiest to remember if they follow standard English spelling, spacing, and capitalization (also see the naming conventions for articles)." PC78 (talk) 12:03, 22 May 2015 (UTC)
 * So "AllMusic" with two capital letters and no space is standard English spacing and capitalization? This move request is not even about introducing a proper name since the pronunciation already matches that of the article, so there won't be any improvement in remembering the template. Skilled typists will not find it difficult to add an additional capital M in the middle of a single word, but others may find it obstructive while putting the template link into an article. De728631 (talk) 19:08, 22 May 2015 (UTC)
 * The proper name with proper capitalisation is AllMusic, so I believe this proposed move is in the spirit of the guideline I quoted above. Since the uncapitalised form will be retained as a redirect and continue to work just as it does now, I really don't understand your objection. PC78 (talk) 22:35, 22 May 2015 (UTC)


 * Support. It should match the article. If someone feels the camel casing in AllMusic is inappropriate, the correct venue to argue that is that article's talk page. Calidum T&#124;C 01:32, 25 May 2015 (UTC)
 * Weak support but pretty pointless nomination. Using one or the other now does the same exact thing and I'm sure editors will continue to use both when adding it in articles. Since functionality isn't affected, moving it or not moving it makes no difference. It's more important what the output looks like. -- Star cheers peaks news lost wars Talk to me 18:31, 28 May 2015 (UTC)
 * Support though it would be something like WP:NOTBROKEN. Eman 235 / talk  23:16, 28 May 2015 (UTC)
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the proposal. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

ID parameter doesn't appear to function properly
Trying to fix allmusic link at No Roses - no matter how I enter the url or parts thereof the link does not point to the correct page.--Someoneinmyheadbutit&#39;snotme (talk) 01:32, 2 May 2016 (UTC)


 * I did this based on the example in the "Album (with accessdate)" example in the template documentation, and it seems to work okay. Typing in   results in . — Mudwater (Talk) 06:18, 2 May 2016 (UTC)


 * Appreciate the effort - it'll be helpful going forward. Someoneinmyheadbutit&#39;snotme (talk) 06:47, 2 May 2016 (UTC)

An authorlink parameter?
AllMusic has |first= and |last= parameters for named reviewers. My idea may be old ground; but if it is, I unashamedly open it again: I suggest that it should also have a wikilinked |authorlink= parameter. |first=Ron |last=Wynn doesn't help readers as much as would an authorlink to Ron Wynn, which would allow readers to assess the weight to give to him or to any other named AllMusic reviewer.

I trust everyday AllMusic entries as much as I do all self-published sources - i.e. in no way are they WP:RS for notability, but they are often useful for facts like the existence of something or suchlike. However, an AllMusic review signed by someone with a Wiki article begins to look like it could be evidence of notability.

This would be an enhancement to the template, and should therefore have no knock-on (oh no! 100,000 articles need to be updated!) effect. Can of worms opened, comments welcome. Narky Blert (talk) 00:52, 15 June 2017 (UTC)
 * +1. Why can't this template be a wrapper for Cite web or similar and support all the parameters of that template? -- Michael Bednarek (talk) 06:59, 28 March 2020 (UTC)
 * I agree, this template should have an "author-link" parameter as all the "Cite ..." family of templates have. —Bruce1eetalk 07:17, 11 January 2021 (UTC)
 * This should be converted to a CS1 wrapper, imo, if being used for citations. If not, I'm not sure why this suggestion is required? ProcrastinatingReader (talk) 09:17, 11 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: If we're going to use this for citations, this template should be kept as-is, with a second one at cite AllMusic being created for citations (with a big warning to read WP:ALLMUSIC). This one is designed for external links. Elliot321 (talk &#124; contribs) 00:23, 20 January 2021 (UTC)
 * In line with this template's documentation ("... or when citing it as a source."), it is already widely used for citations. How would the output of a suggested template be any different from this template? -- Michael Bednarek (talk) 07:19, 20 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Support and I note that the description of this template currently says 'The template can be used for any link to AllMusic's website, including the "External links" section or when citing it as a source.' This is in conflict with the current answer, so reopening. Monxton (talk) 15:46, 19 August 2021 (UTC)
 * Please see this new test case, in which the sandbox version shows the use of author-link. Does it look like what is wanted here? – Jonesey95 (talk) 21:08, 19 August 2021 (UTC)
 * Thank you. Looks OK to me. (Can somebody please move this section further down this page for chronological consistency?) -- Michael Bednarek (talk) 01:50, 20 August 2021 (UTC)
 * ✅ * Pppery * it has begun... 17:05, 26 August 2021 (UTC)

Imporving tip
Hey. If you replace " " with

It would make the template easier to use.--Mikey641 (talk) 20:43, 23 July 2017 (UTC)

Pending updates to template
I made some updates in Template:AllMusic/sandbox: Please share any comments or suggestions. -- Zyxw (talk) 07:49, 6 August 2018 (UTC)
 * 1) If parameter 1 or "class" are not specified, the default "class" is based on the "id" value (mn=artist, mw=album, mt=song, mc=composition) as per suggestion by Mikey641
 * 2) Intelligent selection of default "class" also works on long "id" values
 * 3) If "id" value does not start with a known prefix, the default "class" is still artist
 * 4) If not using "pure_url" and "id" is not specified, use Wikidata property (if available)
 * 5) *  if used in Led Zeppelin article
 * Blue pencil.svg
 * 1) If not using "pure_url" and no "id" or Wikidata, display error message and include article in hidden Category:AllMusic template missing ID and not in Wikidata
 * 2) *  if used in article without Wikidata property for AllMusic
 * 3) Update handling of empty parameter 3, "label", or "title" to prevent displaying the link as "[1]" (use current page name instead)
 * 4) Trim leading and trailing spaces from value in parameter 3 (to fix positioning of external link icon; this may browser dependent)
 * 1) If "id" value does not start with a known prefix, the default "class" is still artist
 * 2) If not using "pure_url" and "id" is not specified, use Wikidata property (if available)
 * 3) *  if used in Led Zeppelin article
 * Blue pencil.svg
 * 1) If not using "pure_url" and no "id" or Wikidata, display error message and include article in hidden Category:AllMusic template missing ID and not in Wikidata
 * 2) *  if used in article without Wikidata property for AllMusic
 * 3) Update handling of empty parameter 3, "label", or "title" to prevent displaying the link as "[1]" (use current page name instead)
 * 4) Trim leading and trailing spaces from value in parameter 3 (to fix positioning of external link icon; this may browser dependent)
 * 1) If not using "pure_url" and no "id" or Wikidata, display error message and include article in hidden Category:AllMusic template missing ID and not in Wikidata
 * 2) *  if used in article without Wikidata property for AllMusic
 * 3) Update handling of empty parameter 3, "label", or "title" to prevent displaying the link as "[1]" (use current page name instead)
 * 4) Trim leading and trailing spaces from value in parameter 3 (to fix positioning of external link icon; this may browser dependent)
 * 1) Trim leading and trailing spaces from value in parameter 3 (to fix positioning of external link icon; this may browser dependent)
 * 1) Trim leading and trailing spaces from value in parameter 3 (to fix positioning of external link icon; this may browser dependent)
 * 1) Trim leading and trailing spaces from value in parameter 3 (to fix positioning of external link icon; this may browser dependent)
 * 1) Trim leading and trailing spaces from value in parameter 3 (to fix positioning of external link icon; this may browser dependent)
 * 1) Trim leading and trailing spaces from value in parameter 3 (to fix positioning of external link icon; this may browser dependent)

Dead AllMusic links still using rnnnnnn
I have no suggestions, but I'm stunned that there hasn't been (at least as far as I've been able to see) any talk of AllMusic having revamped their site entirely, and how changes/updates like this will be implemented in Wikipedia. There must be literally tens and perhaps hundreds of thousands of music-related Wikipedia articles utilizing the old and now completely useless template. In other words, almost every music-related article on Wikipedia contains a dead link to AllMusic. I'm not sure how these can be fixed and replaced with the new template. There would have to be an army of WP editors working around the clock for months doing nothing but replacing the old AllMusic templates in articles. Jhw57 (talk) 11:20, 19 September 2018 (UTC)
 * Could you clarify your concerns? All the examples overleaf seem to work for me. -- Michael Bednarek (talk) 12:45, 19 September 2018 (UTC)
 * (Sorry for the delay.) I'm not sure what you mean. Almost every current WP article for an album contains a link to an AllMusic review/rating like the following for the Rolling Stones' Exile on Main Street: . Clicking on this link (or any AllMusic link in an article) now just takes one to the main AllMusic home page, not the review in question, because the AllMusic identifier/WP id value "r16834" for this particular album has been changed to "mw0000191639" by AllMusic. Because AllMusic has done this for all albums, how does one effect a global change in articles with these now invalid AllMusic tags from "rxxxxx" to "mwxxxxxxxxxx"? Jhw57 (talk) 16:43, 1 October 2018 (UTC)
 * Ah, now I see. But that's not the template's fault but how it is used:  wil fix it: . Obviously, there has been a change in AllMusic's scheme of naming their web pages. I'm surprised that that hasn't been discussed here before, but the form rnnnnnn is not mentioned here after 2014 and the documentation was changed  by User:Zyxw to the current scheme. I've never come across that now erroneous use, but I don't often check AllMusic links. Anyway, I understand that these things get fixed on Wikipedia like everything else: someone fixes it. -- Michael Bednarek (talk) 05:29, 2 October 2018 (UTC)
 * My fault for not being as clear as I could. I've added AllMusic links myself using the newer template here and never realized AllMusic had changed their page naming scheme until I recently ran into a host of dead AllMusic links on WP. It was then that I discovered that there are countless AllMusic links still using rnnnnnn. And like you, I'm surprised it's never been discussed. More people need to be made more aware of it because it's not the kind of obvious error that calls out to be fixed. In other words, WP editors should as a matter of course check the AllMusic link any time they happen to find themselves on a music album page. Jhw57 (talk) 13:15, 3 October 2018 (UTC)
 * The links for when "rnnnnnn" is used for album id appear to be working again. Star cheers peaks news lost wars Talk to me 01:11, 10 November 2018 (UTC)

Hello. I just noticed this discussion. I too had seen that there were a lot of old AllMusic links that weren't working any more. I brought this up at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Albums, and requested a bot to fix them at Bot requests. But as noted above, the old links seem to be working again. — Mudwater (Talk) 07:49, 10 November 2018 (UTC)

Set field question
I am wondering of the "pure url" field can be set to no. I work on formatting bare urls. When the field is set to yes readers only see a bare url in the references and they will slap one of the many Template:Cleanup bare URLs on the article. But the url isn't actually bare. If the default can be set to no for the field that will save some time and effort in dealing with these. Here is an example of what I am talking about. If not no worries I just thought I would ask. MarnetteD&#124;Talk 20:00, 12 November 2019 (UTC)
 * MarnetteD informed me of this on my talk page, and with them having said that, I can't honestly see a reason why any user would want to use a pure (bare) URL or prefer one over a more detailed citation. I have never used this template myself, but I can't see the benefit of just a bare URL.  Ss  112   18:20, 19 March 2020 (UTC)
 * (Re-writing comment, now that I've gone back and read the older discussion) I'd noticed this, as well - I assume there had been some reason for doing it this way in the first place, maybe to embed the Allmusic URL within another citation template? I just looked at the old archived discussions from ten years ago, and it does indeed seem that was the intent. Evidently a number of editors were embedding this template within  or other templates.  At this far remove, though, I have no idea how many citations are still set up that way (and I'd guess it would be a thankless task for a human to go through and check).  Also, Allmusic had (again, 10 years ago) just changed the format of their URLs, so that all the existing Allmusic URLs on Wikipedia were broken.  Someone ran a 'bot to make the updates, and apparently that was the way they had to do it. I had just replied "I agree, default it to 'no' or rewrite so that someone has to 'opt-in' for the bare URL", but it looks like there'd be some cleanup to handle, first.  Maybe a job for a 'bot (again)? (Also, I'm rather surprised we haven't had to revisit the URL reformatting issue again, over the past 10 years.) -- Gyrofrog  (talk) 20:26, 19 March 2020 (UTC)


 * Thanks for your responses and . I was going to place an edit request below but after your updated post G (thanks for doing the research - much appreciated) I'm not sure if a RFC is needed or not. I will post a link to this thread at WP:VPT to see if we can get more input. We can always proceed with a RFC at a later time. MarnetteD&#124;Talk 20:51, 19 March 2020 (UTC)
 * The search gives 51,000 hits but most are using it for the url parameter of a citation template like this:
 * Based on the search there are only around 2900 pages where a bare url is actually displayed. AllMusic uses the article name as link title by default when   is not set. This will sometimes be wrong so some care is needed if the parameter is changed. Maybe a bot could be coded to handle simple cases where   is the only content of a ref. If the bot looks up the AllMusic page and the article name does not match the title then it could pick the title from AllMusic. Cases with other context for the template may require human inspection. PrimeHunter (talk) 21:29, 19 March 2020 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the input. The only thing I might offer in response, for now, is that there's currently a bot (or bots?) changing http to https for the Allmusic links: . So (I'm guessing) the searches you've demonstrated might need to account for both. -- Gyrofrog  (talk) 19:59, 20 March 2020 (UTC)

"access-date" parameter?
Can "access-date" be added as a parameter with "accessdate" an alias? Bots are currently changing "accessdate" to "access-date" in articles, and it seems that the former may soon be depreciated. Thanks. —Bruce1eetalk 13:30, 26 December 2020 (UTC)
 * ✅ -- Michael Bednarek (talk) 05:53, 30 December 2020 (UTC)
 * Yes check.svg Done – Jonesey95 (talk) 14:48, 30 December 2020 (UTC)
 * That's great – thank you. —Bruce1eetalk 15:01, 30 December 2020 (UTC)

Template-protected edit request on 22 June 2021
Change capitalization of book title, from All music guide to rock, to All Music Guide to Rock. (All Music Guide is the formal name of AllMusic's predecessor; see .) Peterh6658 (talk) 06:59, 22 June 2021 (UTC)
 * Where are you seeing the text "All music guide to rock", as I can't see that this template emits it. firefly  ( t · c ) 10:10, 22 June 2021 (UTC)
 * Judging from your contributions, I think you're referring to the way this showed up at Country rock? If so, that was an issue with the reference being cited there, not with this template. I've fixed the capitalization there. I'm closing this request as, but if I've misunderstood, feel free to re-open it (by changing  to  ) and clarify what you meant.  -- Tamzin  (she/they) &#124; o toki tawa mi. 19:40, 22 June 2021 (UTC)
 * Yes, thanks. I was seeing the following ref coding in the Characteristics section: ref name="Bogdanov2002C-Rock". I wasn't sure what to do, and somehow ended up making a request to edit the template, because I thought that was my only option. Peterh6658 (talk) 20:20, 22 June 2021 (UTC)
 * Well, better to ask in the wrong place than to not ask at all.  -- Tamzin  (she/they) &#124; o toki tawa mi. 21:29, 22 June 2021 (UTC)

archive-url parameter
I was wondering if an archive-url parameter could be added to align this template with the {{cite web}} template and WP:DEADREF. voorts 01:26, 23 April 2023 (UTC)

PROBLEM IN ITALIAN WIKIPEDIA: Please correct: "onomino" to "omonimo"
ARTICLE: https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_on_White

Please correct: "onomino" to "omonimo" in the TEMPLATE https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Allmusic  or perhaps in the TEMPLATE  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:IMDb 87.0.224.151 (talk) 17:34, 16 November 2023 (UTC)
 * Someone fixed the problem on Wikidata. – Jonesey95 (talk) 19:04, 16 November 2023 (UTC)

Template-protected edit request on 20 November 2023
Change the four instances of  to , as the former is a redirect. DocWatson42 (talk) 16:35, 20 November 2023 (UTC)
 * It is typical to link to identifiers from templates in this way so that "What links here" for the article is easier to parse. The Citation Style 1 templates like cite book follow the same approach for ISBN and other identifiers. – Jonesey95 (talk) 20:17, 20 November 2023 (UTC)
 * I dunno... I would maybe consider that argument if it was because of the Authority control template. But this is an EL template, and I think it's fine to just link to the non-redirect. SWinxy (talk) 22:17, 20 November 2023 (UTC)
 * I think linking to the identifier redirect is preferred here. * Pppery * it has begun... 21:46, 22 November 2023 (UTC)