Wikipedia:WikiProject Composers/Sound excerpts

See also: Category:Audio files of classical music and Category:Audio files of music by composer This explains about "fair use' and the quality, number and location of excerpts to be used.

"Fair use" without permission
Copyright law is a mess. However, it appears that under Fair use provisions, we can use short sound excerpts from commercial recordings without gaining permission, but only if the following matters are observed.
 * Duration: a maximum of around 30 seconds or 10% or the duration of the track—whichever is shorter—is probably fair.
 * Ensure that the excerpt is used in an educational context, and does not appear to have any negative impact whatsoever on the company's market (better the opposite); brief mention in the accompanying main text of some feature of style or technique in the excerpt will strengthen a claim of fair use.
 * Detailed attribution on the information page is necessary, including:
 * **the names of the performers, and if possible, the date and venue of the performance;
 * **the name of the recording company, and its website address;
 * **the title and number of the track, and the name and catalogue number of the CD from which it was taken, and the year of release; and
 * **the file size.

This is a sound sample from a commercial recording. Its inclusion here is claimed as fair use because:
 * Justification of your fair use must be added to the info box. You may consider pasting in the following text and modifying it as necessary:
 * *it illustrates an educational article that includes a historical and critical examination of the excerpt;
 * *it is a sample of about 30 seconds from a much longer recording, and could not be used as a substitute for the original commercial recording; and
 * *it is not replaceable with an uncopyrighted or freely copyrighted sample of comparable educational value.

I believe that this use of the excerpt is in good faith, and that its inclusion enhances rather than reduces the commercial value of the recording from which it was drawn; however, if the owner of the copyright wishes to challenge my use, I will be happy to remove it promptly, with apology.

When uploading the sound file, use the copyright tag Template:Music sample

This is what will then appear on the info page:

The quality, number and location of excerpts
All excerpts should be of high-quality recordings. Poor quality recordings have repeatedly attracted complaints from Wikipedia readers, so in the view of many editors, it is better to use no recording at all if a good one cannot be found.

By "high quality" is meant two things: the sound should faithfully reflect the original performance, and the performance itself should reflect a high level of skill. Editors should especially avoid posting performances with wrong notes, poor intonation, unsteady tempo, and similar shortcomings.

Short excerpts may be a valuable component of a composer article if they give readers a taste of the composer's style in general, or illustrate certain aspects of that style. It's best if you can find an excerpt that falls naturally into a short duration; otherwise, the next best arrangement is to start at the opening of a track (or musical section) and fade down after about 30 seconds. Try to avoid unpleasant glitches at either end of the excerpt. Fade ups at the start of an excerpt are less effective.

Excerpts can be closely integrated with the flow of the text if they appear at strategic locations. Try to make the visual appearance of the link as unobtrusive as possible: short titles help in that respect. Consider rationing their number: don't try to be comprehensive; leave the reader wanting more.

Large repositories of longer recordings at the bottom of a composer article may add little to the value of an article.