User:Soundvisions1/working/mc

This page gives some rough guidelines intended to be used by Wikipedia editors to decide whether a music related subject should or should not have an article on Wikipedia. While satisfying these notability guidelines generally indicates that subject receive an article, failing to satisfy them is not a criterion for speedy deletion.

This guideline may be considered a specialized version of Notability and is intended to stand on it's own while reflecting the following core Wikipedia policies:
 * Verifiability
 * Biographies of living persons
 * No original research
 * Neutral point of view
 * Wikipedia is not a soapbox
 * Wikipedia is not an indiscriminate collection of information
 * Wikipedia is not a crystal ball

Please note that the failure to meet any of these criteria does not mean a subject is not notable under one of the other Notability guidelines.

Record labels are companies and as such are not covered by these guidelines. Please see Notability (organizations and companies) for acceptable criteria.

The general notability guideline helps to define terms used throughout Wikipedia and as such are used here as well. In order to meet Wikipedia's standards for verifiability and notability, the article in question must actually document that the criterion is true. Should the article be tagged for Proposed deletion or sent to Articles for deletion it is not enough to make vague claims to assert importance, the article itself must document notability. It is also important to note that, in general, notability by association is not cause for inclusion, nor is merely being true or useful.

Criteria for musicians and ensembles
A musician or ensemble (note that this includes a band, singer, rapper, orchestra, DJ, musical theatre group, etc.) is notable if it meets any one of the following criteria:

(NOTE: Do we define what position is the cut off? See Hit single for possible numbers. Also how far does this criteria go? i.e - Main performers only? Key recording personal only? Secondary personal such as backing musicians, co writers, co-engineers? The person who worked in the studio where it was recorded and set up the mics, ran cables, got coffee and is credited as "studio assistant"? See Articles for deletion/Christopher Rojas for an example where it is asserted than because the subject need only meet "one" of these criteria the subjects many co-credits for various things on gold and platinum records qualified them under C2. Even though, as a musician, none of these "charted hits" are his own, they all carry someone else's name as performer, one editor in the discussion feels "He went platinum, he deserves to be on wikipedia." As a side note - there are no current criteria that state that only credits are allowable to establish notability but one editor points out it is acceptable "even without having written coverage in media as is the usual case, as WP:MUSICBIO does not require it.") (NOTE: Do we establish a clear difference between numbers of copies in one location vs another location. i.e - 3,000 copies in Chile makes it a Gold Record thus meets this criteria. However would selling 3,000 copies in the United State make a subject notable? How about if it was 3,000 copies of a self distributed album? See also C5) (NOTE: Do we start to include DIY labels and "self" labels? If the subject in on a small indy label and that label only pressed a small amount of their releases does it still fall under this criteria? How small is "small"? 500, 1,000, 3,000? And once this is established do we also apply it to the "Albums, singles and songs" criteria?) (NOTE: Can this be better defined in regards to acceptable criteria? If the subject is only representative of the "local scene" it should not be excepted they will have coverage outside of the local scene. Past articles on "local" subjects have been deleted is nothing more than "local" coverage is presented. Even though C1 excludes coverage in a "school or university newspaper" should this criteria be a clear "exception"?) (NOTE: As with the term "hit" do we define how far down a "winner" or "placed" goes? i.e: Using American idol as an example - is being in the "top 10" as valid as being one of the many who get the "golden ticket" to Hollywood? Or in the case of contests where there is always more than one winner is being one of xxx still valid for this criteria?) (NOTE: Do we define "performed" as the name of the artist(s) who receives credit or do we allow any musician who played on the track to also use the criteria. See Fantastic 4: The Album, track number 4 credited to Joss Stone. Now see Wikipedia talk:Notability (music) where several things are asked about Articles for deletion/Christopher Rojas one of which is that Christopher Rojas "has performed music for a work of media that is notable (What Ever Happened to the Heroes for The Fantastic Four original soundtrack)".)
 * 1) It has been the subject of multiple non-trivial published works whose source is independent from the musician or ensemble itself and reliable.
 * 2) * 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:
 * 3) ** 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.
 * 4) ** 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.
 * 5) **An article in a school or university newspaper (or similar) would generally be considered trivial but should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
 * 6) Has had a charted hit on any national music chart.
 * 1) Has had a record certified gold or higher in at least one country.
 * 1) Has received non-trivial coverage in a reliable source of an international concert tour, or a national concert tour in at least one sovereign country.
 * 2) Has released two or more albums on a major label or one of the more important indie labels (i.e. an independent label with a history of more than a few years and a roster of performers, many of which are notable).
 * 1) Contains at least one member who was once a part of or later joined a band that is otherwise notable; note that it is often most appropriate to use redirects in place of articles on side projects, early bands and such, and that common sense exceptions always apply.
 * 2) Has become the most prominent representative of a notable style or of the local scene of a city; note that the subject must still meet all ordinary Wikipedia standards, including verifiability.
 * 1) Has won or been nominated for a major music award, such as a Grammy, Juno, Mercury, Choice or Grammis award.
 * 2) Has won or placed in a major music competition.
 * 1) 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 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.)
 * 1) Has been placed in rotation nationally by any major radio network.
 * 2) Has been the subject of a half hour or longer broadcast 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 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 theater of some sort (includes musicals, operas, etc) that was performed in a notable theater 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.''

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.

Music Journalists
(see also Academics, Criteria 9)

If a Music Journalists any one  of the following conditions, as substantiated through reliable sources, they are notable. If they meet none of these conditions, they may still be notable, if they meet the conditions of WP:Notability or other notability criteria and will depend largely on the extent to which the claim is verifiable.


 * 1) Has become a prominent representative of a genre of music or of a local scene of a city.
 * 2) Has authored a book that is cited as being influential in style, technique, repertory or teaching in a particular music genre.

Albums
In general, if the musician or ensemble that recorded an album is considered notable then an official release may have sufficient notability to have a individual article on Wikipedia provided it meets the criteria. A musical release distributed by a major label, or a release by a well known artist, is not provided automatic "Notability" status thusly all articles on albums, singles or songs must meet the general notability guidelines, with significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject. 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 and 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 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 performed independently 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.

Upcoming releases
Articles and information about musical releases with confirmed release dates in the near future must be confirmed by reliable sources and should use the tag. 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 WP:CRYSTAL violation and should be discussed only in the artist's article, not at an Articles for deletion discussion. Once the artist or their record label has publicly confirmed the title, track listing and release date, an article about an album is not a WP:CRYSTAL violation.

Other
Demos, mixtapes, bootlegs, promo-only, ringtones, internet downloads and unreleased material are in general not notable unless they meet one of the following criteria.
 * 1) It has been the subject of multiple non-trivial published works whose source is independent from the musician or ensemble itself and reliable
 * 2) Has appeared on one of Billboard charts such as Digital Music & Ringtone Downloads, Hot Digital Songs or Neurotic Media Top 10 Promotional Downloads
 * 3) Has had it's recording process discussed in a non-trivial manner in industry trade publications such as Mix, Pro Sound News or Recording Magazine

Resources
Some acceptable online sources for information on musical releases 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.