Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/List of video game soundtracks on music streaming platforms


 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was delete. While one keep argument relies on "helpful", which is, ironically, not a particularly helpful argument, the others argue that this is a notable and appropriate subject for a list with plenty of reference material available. The "delete" arguments do not generally dispute that reference material is available, but rather argue that this is an indiscriminate, inappropriate subject for a list. Both of these arguments are reasonable, so the "delete" side achieved consensus via substantially stronger support. Seraphimblade Talk to me 11:14, 6 April 2023 (UTC)

List of video game soundtracks on music streaming platforms

 * – ( View AfD View log | edits since nomination)

Fails WP:LISTN. Nearly all major game released these days will have their soundtracks uploaded to some music-streaming platforms. The list also relies excessively on primary sources (e.g. Twitter), and most of the sources in the articles are WP:ROTM announcements that provide no meaningful commentary as to why its release on a streaming platform is important. A brief paragraph in the video game music article would probably be sufficient to cover this topic, and I don't see the necessity of having a list. OceanHok (talk) 11:34, 14 March 2023 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been included in the deletion sorting lists for the following topics: Music and Video games. OceanHok (talk) 11:34, 14 March 2023 (UTC)
 * Keep per precedents found through consensus at Articles for deletion/List of video game soundtracks released on vinyl and Articles for deletion/List of video game soundtracks released on vinyl (2nd nomination). And while I largely tried to avoid first party sources when I created the article, and would work towards replacing them, looking through the article, there are plenty of third party sources discussing the subject. Sergecross73   msg me  12:25, 14 March 2023 (UTC)
 * WP:LISTN satisfying sources:
 * https://www.gamespot.com/amp-articles/best-video-game-soundtracks-where-to-stream-them/1100-6475226/
 * https://www.theverge.com/2016/8/12/12450594/spotify-video-gaming-playlists
 * https://www.avclub.com/just-about-every-final-fantasy-soundtrack-is-now-stream-1835300814
 * https://www.pcgamer.com/capcom-has-added-a-truckload-of-game-soundtracks-to-spotify/
 * Sergecross73  msg me  13:38, 14 March 2023 (UTC)
 * 2 of them are ROTM announcements. They tell me several Capcom games and FF games are coming to Spotify, but none of them is WP:SIGCOV. I do not think GameSpot really intend to discuss streaming in its listicle as well. It simply tells you where you can stream (and therefore access) "the best video game soundtracks". GameSpot and IGN sometimes provided links to retailers, telling readers where you can buy or pre-order certain games. That doesn't mean we should create an article named "List of video game you can buy through Amazon".


 * If the main point of the article is to tell readers video game soundtracks on streaming platforms are rare, then the list does not show that. It appears to be a very common occurence. If the main point of the article is to tell readers that every single game these days has their soundtracks released through streaming platforms, then there is no necessity for such a list. If the SIGCOV part of the article is about Japanese developers being unwilling to release soundtracks through streaming platforms, then a list listing nearly all western games to have ever existed since 2010 is also not appropriate. It is a simple phenomenon bloated into a gigantic list. I still don't see the necessity of having this massive dynamic list that is always going to be incomplete as well. (Despite the effort of maintaining such a list, there are a lot of missing entires (e.g. FIFA17 to FIFA 19, a bunch of Call of Duty, Far Cry 4 not being listed despite the inclusion of both FC3 and FC5). This just highlights how unimportant and trivial the whole thing is. If a soundtrack's release through streaming platforms is so important, then there should be significant coverage from our RS each time it happens.) OceanHok (talk) 14:49, 14 March 2023 (UTC)
 * I agree, those articles are standard WP:MILL announcements. They do not indicate the idea of releasing on a streaming service is particularly noteworthy, just alerting people that soundtracks are on streaming. ᴢxᴄᴠʙɴᴍ (ᴛ) 14:59, 14 March 2023 (UTC)

Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, Liz Read! Talk! 18:11, 21 March 2023 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Lists-related deletion discussions.  Spiderone (Talk to Spider) 12:48, 14 March 2023 (UTC)
 * Delete Per WP:OLIST as a list that is too time consuming to keep updated and serves no encyclopedic purpose besides advertising. The ephemeral nature of streaming music means the list needs an outsized amount of effort and is constantly changing. ᴢxᴄᴠʙɴᴍ (ᴛ) 12:58, 14 March 2023 (UTC)
 * Keep per Sergecross comment because this article for the longest time is really helpful because not every game has a soundtrack on streaming services, and it goes to show how much there was a demand for VGM on streaming services for a long time. Its the same thing with vinyl as well. NakhlaMan (talk) 13:19, 14 March 2023 (UTC)
 * Delete per WP:SALAT. This is one of those lists that could've been about a narrowly defined topic early in the history of streaming, but since streaming is just the default way of releasing any music these days, it's become more or less meaningless. Like a list of music released on CD in the 90s or a list of movies released in theaters (but even more extreme than the latter). There is sourcing that would fall into two categories: sources from years ago when streaming wasn't the default, and the equivalent of "what's on Netflix this month" roundups. Years ago, when studios put an entire TV show's catalog on Hulu, it was novel. Now, a "list of TV shows on streaming platforms" would be a similar SALAT problem. In other words, if a video game soundtrack is released, it's released on a music streaming platform. We can't keep a list of them all. Beyond that, this isn't actually a list of soundtracks; it's a list of video games. That makes it a step more problematic per WP:CSC compared to a list TV shows available to stream because in nearly all cases we don't actually have an article on the subjects themselves. Not sure what I think of the vinyl article, but at least that's a much smaller group because releasing a soundtrack on vinyl is relatively unusual. &mdash; Rhododendrites  talk \\ 14:42, 14 March 2023 (UTC)
 * Delete: This content would be better served in an encyclopedic format. I think that Sergecross73 has done a terrific job of showcasing that it's notable enough that it receives coverage, but Wikipedia is not and cannot be an indiscriminate collection of information, and at this point, saying what's on Spotify would basically be the same as saying "all video game music except for Nintendo" nowadays. The vinyl examples don't fly here, because that is a clearly definable and limited category, where this would be essentially every music made in modern gaming. The content and the sources would be better served by discussing it in an encyclopedic format at video game music. Nomader  ( talk ) 01:30, 16 March 2023 (UTC)
 * Merge or Weak Delete: Both List of game soundtracks released on X articles strangely use the medium as a differentiator. These should be List of game soundtracks released standalone. We could split this into digital and physical lists but in my opinion a merged list would be most useful. (Side note, why do publishers use vinyl records instead of normal CDs?) IgelRM (talk) 09:15, 16 March 2023 (UTC)
 *  Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.

Relisting comment: One more go… Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, CycloneYoris talk! 21:59, 28 March 2023 (UTC)
 * Delete per Rhododendrites. Also, the lead suggests a narrower scope than the list title does; "on music streaming platforms," interpreted plainly, means virtually any soundtrack in existence that someone put on YouTube. Gnomingstuff (talk) 18:39, 21 March 2023 (UTC)
 * It was meant to document official soundtrack releases. Vast majority of YouTube uploads are unofficial fan uploads. Much like List of PlayStation Portable games doesn't include homebrew games or the hundreds of Sega Genesis games fans have made unofficially available to play on it from downloading emulators and roms off the internet. This distinction is generally assumed in the video game content Wikipedia, though the distinction could easily be pointed out should this article avoid deletion. Sergecross73   msg me  19:29, 21 March 2023 (UTC)
 * Keep. I feel that the sourcing is adequate, and there's no real risk of the list ballooning out of control. If it comes to that, forking the list into multiple lists (perhaps by year if it calls for it) would be fine. - Cukie Gherkin (talk) 07:04, 27 March 2023 (UTC)
 * Keep. The deletion nomination opens with "Nearly all major game released these days will have their soundtracks uploaded to some music-streaming platforms" which still isn't the case for most Japanese games. Besides, the article is good to let users know of older games who finally may have their soundtracks available worldwide, for the first time, like several Castlevania series games. All the article needs is less primary sources for references but otherwise I don't see a net positive in deleting it. Jotamide (talk) 19:25, 27 March 2023 (UTC)
 *  Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.


 * Comment - FYI, I'm very open to reworking the list, setting up inclusion criteria, or other clean up efforts or other alternatives to deletion. Happy to discuss here, my talk page, or the article talk page. Just let me know. Sergecross73   msg me  18:33, 29 March 2023 (UTC)
 * Delete. The sourcing is fine, great even, but sourcing is not the problem. I don't even think third-party coverage of the concept is a problem (that would justify. The problem is that game soundtracks on music streaming platforms is simply not a defining characteristic (SALAT, per Rhododendrites). Every major release in the past few years has their soundtrack on streaming and more and more back catalogs from older games are getting added every day, which also runs into the issue of WP:NOTDATABASE (cf. ZXC's rationale that this list is functionally an advertisement for a feature of Spotify). I am not convinced that the comparison to the list of soundtracks on vinyl is anything more than WP:OTHERSTUFF. The other major 'keep' argument is that it's WP:USEFUL. I don't find either of these to be convincing. Axem Titanium (talk) 17:23, 30 March 2023 (UTC)
 * Delete: Clearly fails WP:LISTN. LISTCRUFT.  // Timothy :: talk  04:46, 4 April 2023 (UTC)
 * Comment - I hate to see something deleted when all of the keeps, and a number of the deletes, have noted that the sourcing is good. Whether it's closed as delete or "no consensus", I'll try to rework it into something more palatable. There's something here, it just needs some work. Sergecross73   msg me  13:46, 4 April 2023 (UTC)


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.