Wikipedia:WikiProject Electronic music/Sources

The following list consists of recommended sources for expanding articles that primarily or exclusively cover electronic music-related topics. This list is merely a collection of suggestions, and other good sources may exist. This list is not exhaustive: Additional websites and print sources may also be used, provided they meet the criteria at Reliable sources. Specifically, reviews should be written by professional music journalists or DJs, or found within any online or print publication having a (paid or volunteer) editorial and writing staff (which excludes personal blogs), and must be from a source that is independent of the artist, record company, etc.

Note: While help in expanding this list is quite welcome, please be cautious and discuss possible additions on the talk page first. Take a look at the project archives for examples of how it has been done in the past; for example, see the discussions about adding The A.V. Club, MusicOMH, and various magazines.

There are a number of types of sources to generally avoid using on Wikipedia. Some examples include:


 * Per Wikipedia's guideline on user-generated sources, websites with user-generated content should never be used as sources since they have little or no editorial oversight. This may include other general wiki-style sites such as Wikia, and product-related sites such as 45cat.com, Discogs, Rate Your Music or Last.fm. It is also important to be cautious of websites that publish user-submitted album reviews. For sites such as AbsolutePunk, Sputnikmusic, and Jesus Freak Hideout, be sure to select only the staff-written reviews.


 * Self-published sources are generally unacceptable as references on Wikipedia. An artist's social networking site, such as Facebook or Twitter, in addition to personal blogs and forum posts, should largely be avoided. If the information being added from one of these websites is truly notable enough for inclusion, a publication will likely report about it.


 * Online retailers such as iTunes and Amazon.com should also be avoided. It can be seen as inappropriate to directly link to a site where one can purchase the subject in question. Wikipedia's role should not be used to advance the sale of an album. Generally speaking, all of the information found on online retailers can be found at a number of other sites. Track listings, release dates, record label, album covers and track lengths can all be found at AllMusic. The content and reviews found on online retailers may also be biased in that these sources want you to buy their product.


 * AllMusic's summary should be avoided. Previous discussions at WP:ALBUMS and RSN have evinced that they can be incongruous with the reviewer's prose, which should take precedent over the summary (e.g. AllMusic's summary classifies Rhythm Killers as "reggae", while the reviewer observes "no reggae in sight"; likewise, AllMusic's summary says that Staind includes the post-grunge genre while the reviewer says that the band "no longer sound like post-grungers...").