Wikipedia:Notability (music)

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This page gives some rough guidelines which we might use to decide if a musical topic is notable.

Important note: Failing to satisfy the notability guidelines is not a criterion for speedy deletion. However, an article that fails to assert that the subject of the article is important or significant can be speedily deleted under criterion A7. A mere claim of significance, even if contested, may avoid speedy deletion under A7, requiring a full proposed deletion or Article for Deletion process to determine if the article should be included in Wikipedia.

Many who spend significant time improving Wikipedia's musical coverage feel that notability is required for a musical topic (such as a band or musical theatre group) to deserve an encyclopedia article. Please note that the failure to meet any of these criteria does not mean an article must be deleted; conversely, meeting any of these criteria does not mean that an article must be kept. These are merely rules of thumb used by some editors when deciding whether or not to keep an article that is on articles for deletion.

Also, to meet Wikipedia:Attribution, the article in question must actually document that the criterion is true. It is not enough to make vague claims in the article or assert a band's importance on a talk page or AfD page -- the article itself must document notability.

See also the Wikipedia:Criteria for inclusion of biographies for notability guidelines for biography articles in general.

Criteria for musicians and ensembles

There are many bands, singers and other musicians and musical ensembles with articles on Wikipedia (see Category:Musicians).

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:

1. It has been the subject of multiple non-trivial published works whose source is independent from the musician/ensemble itself and reliable.Template:Fn
   • This criterion includes published works in all forms, such as newspaper articles, books, magazine articles, and television documentariesTemplate:Fn except for the following:
     • Media reprints of press releases, other publications where the musician/ensemble talks about themselves, and advertising for the musician/ensemble.
     • Works comprising merely trivial coverage, such as newspaper articles that simply report performance dates or the publications of contact and booking details in directories.
     • 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.
2. Has had a charted hit on any national music chart.
3. Has had a record certified gold or higher in at least one country.
4. Has gone on an international concert tour, or a national concert tour in at least one sovereign country, reported in reliable sources.Template:Fn
5. 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).
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. Has won a major music award, such as a Grammy, Juno, Mercury or Grammis award.
9. Has won or placed in a major music competition.
10. 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 page.)
11. Has been placed in rotation nationally by any major radio network.
12. Has been the subject of a half hour or longer broadcast on a national radio or TV network.

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 musician or ensemble that qualifies above, a notable theatre, or has been taken up by a musician or ensemble that qualifies above.
2. Has written musical theatre of some sort (includes musicals, operas, etc) that was performed in a notable theatre 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.

Others

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.

Albums

If the musician or ensemble that recorded an album is considered notable, then albums may have sufficient notability to have individual articles on Wikipedia. Individual articles on albums should include independent coverage.

Album articles with little more than a track listing may be more appropriately merged into the artist's main article, space permitting.

Songs

This is a proposed new section, presently under discussion on the talk page.

Most songs do not merit an article and should redirect to another relevant article, such as for a prominent album or for the artist who wrote or prominently performed the song. A separate article is only appropriate when there is enough verifiable material to warrant a reasonably detailed article; permanent stubs should be merged to articles about an artist or album. Wikipedia:Verifiability states: "If an article topic has no reputable, reliable, third-party sources, Wikipedia should not have an article on that topic.” Each individual recording of a notable song does not usually merit a separate article; different performances should be merged into one article.

A song is probably notable if it meets one or more of the following standards:

1. ...has been covered in sufficient independent works.
2. ...has been performed independently by several notable artists, bands or groups.
3. ...has been ranked on a national or significant music chart.
4. ...has been recognized by journalists, biographers, and/or other respected cultural critics as being significant to a noteworthy group's repertoire.
5. ...has won a significant award or honor.

Resources

One good online source is the All Music Guide ([1]). To find ownership information on songs copyrighted in the US, the ASCAP ACE Title Search and BMI Repertoire Search utilities are invaluable.

Footnotes

• Template:Fnb Self-promotion and product placement are not the routes to having an encyclopaedia article. The published works must be someone else writing about the musician, ensemble, composer, or lyricist. (See Wikipedia:Attribution#Self-published sources for details about the reliability of self-published sources, and Wikipedia:Conflict of interest for treatment of promotional, vanity material.) The barometer of notability is whether people independent of the subject itself have actually considered the musician, ensemble, composer, or lyricist notable enough that they have written and published non-trivial works that focus upon it. The rationale for this is easy to see -- someone simply talking about themselves in their own personal blog, website, book publisher, etc. does not automatically mean they have sufficient attention in the world at large to be called notable. If that was so then everyone could have an article. Wikipedia is not a directory.
• Template:Fnb What constitutes a "published work" is deliberately broad.
• Template:Fnb The application of this criterion is disputed; see discussion on talk page.