Wikipedia:WikiProject Albums/Album article style advice

This is anessayonstyle.It contains the advice or opinions of one or moreWikiProjectson how to format and present article content within their area of interest.

This informationis not a formalWikipedia policy or guideline,as it has not beenthoroughly vetted by the community.

Shortcuts

This is theWikiProject Albumsalbum article style advicepage, which documents recommendations by the members of the project to editors looking to work on album-related articles on Wikipedia.

General advice

Naming

The article name should be the title of the album, disambiguated if necessary. Do not pre-emptivelydisambiguate.When there is no other encyclopedic use of the album title, the article should reside at the normal name, e.g.London Calling,notLondon Calling(album).In cases where disambiguation is needed, the term (EP) should be used forEPs,(video) forvideo albumsand (album) for other albums, e.g.Help!(album)andGas Food Lodging(EP).For multiple albums with the same title, use the artist name to distinguish the different albums, e.g.Down to Earth(Rainbow album)andDown to Earth(Ozzy Osbourne album).For artists who release multiple albums with the same name, disambiguate by year, e.g.Peter Gabriel(1977 album)andPeter Gabriel(1978 album)(unless the albums were released the same year, in which case they can be disambiguated by some commonly accepted convention e.g.Weezer(Teal Album)andWeezer(Black Album),which were both released in 2019).

Forsplit albumsof which there is no single official title, use the two artist names separated with two spaces and a forward slash, such asIsis / Pig Destroyer.The artist that is on the A-side (or whose tracks come first on a CD) should be placed first in the article name. If two bands release more than one split together and occupy the same sides on each release, disambiguate normally by year, adding, for example,(2000 album).If the split has two titles, one per side, use the same forward-slash formatting, such asJihad / Freezing Moon.

If the album title uses theLatin Alpha bet,the article name should be at that title. Translations of titles in languages other than English should not be used as titles unless such a translation iscommonly usedas a title for the album in the English-speaking world. For example,Født til å Herske,notBorn to Rule,Swanesang,notSwan Song,butChant,notCantobecause the album was marketed as "Chant"in most English-speaking countries.

If the album title does not use the Latin Alpha bet, the article name should be thetransliteratedform of the title using Latin characters. For example,Vrisko To Logo Na Zo,notΒρίσκω Το Λόγο Να Ζω(the name written in the Greek Alpha bet) orI Find the Reason to Live(the name translated from Greek into English), andBoku no Miteiru Fūkei,notPhó の thấy ている phong cảnhorThe Scenery I'm Looking At,butCommon Jasmin Orange,notQi li xiang,Bảy dặm hương, orSeven Mile Fragrancebecause the English name "Common Jasmin Orange" appears on the album cover along with the Chinese name. The original language title should appear in parentheses in the opening line of the article following the transliteration.

Formatting

Tracks and singles are placed in "quotation marks", album titles areitalicizedand artists are left alone, with punctuationoutsidequotation marks, for example,

The songs "Taxman","Eleanor Rigby",and"Yellow Submarine"are included onthe Beatles' albumRevolver.

Capitalization

For fuller information on this topic, seeWikipedia:Manual of Style/Capital letters#Composition titlesandWikipedia:Manual of Style/Music#Capitalization.

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WP:ALBUMCAPS

In titles of tracks or albums in the English language, the Wikipedia standard is tocapitalize:

The first word and last word in the title.
All other wordsexceptfor:

Coordinating conjunctions–and,but,or,nor.
Prepositionsshorter than five characters –of,to,in,for,on,over,with,than;butThrough,About,During,Until
Articles–an,a,the.
The wordtoininfinitives.

Note that short verbs (Is,Are,Be,Do) and pronouns (Me,It,His) are capitalized.

In titles of tracks or albums in a languageotherthan English, the project standard is to use the capitalization utilized by that language,notthe English capitalization. If you are unsure about the capitalization standards of other languages, check with areliable third-party source,foreign-language Wikipedias or the appropriate WikiProject and languageManual of Style.

"The"

Mid-sentence, the word "the" should in general not be capitalized in continuous prose, even when it begins the name of a band. However, "the" should be capitalized mid-sentence when it begins the name of an album or other work:

The double albumThe Beatleswas recorded by the rock groupthe Beatles.

Dating

Please try to add the year in parentheses after mentioning an album for the first time in an article or paragraph (unless the year is contained within the sentence) as in: "Nirvana's next album was the breakthrough classicNevermind(1991) ". Donotuse piped links to "years in music" e.g.[[1991 in music|1991]],instead add1991 in musicto the "See also" section if you feel it is appropriate, perWP:EASTEREGG.

PerWP:SEASON,do not describe dates using seasons, such as "released in winter 1995". This can be ambiguous as northern and southern-hemisphere seasons occur at opposite times of the year. Instead, use the most accurate date possible, such as "February 1995" or "early 1995", if a more precise date cannot be verified.

Note thatdate stylesdiffer according to differentvarieties of Englishand those should be respected in different articles.WP:ENGVARexplains the criteria by which an article is written inAmerican,British,orSingaporean English(amongst others.) Similarly,Wikipedia:Manual of Style (dates and numbers)governs the use and formatting of dates in all articles on Wikipedia and should be applied to album articles as well.

Disambiguating links

When linking genres and other terms in the article, be sure it points to the appropriate music- or comedy-related article and not adisambiguation page.For example, rock should point torock musicand notrock;alternative should point toalternative rockand notalternative,a disambiguation page. Usepiped linksif necessary. Other terms to look out for are:pop music,band (musical ensemble), LP (gramophone record) and several more.

Linking to source material

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WP:MUSICSTREAM

Albums streamed on a licensed website (such asRadio3NetorSpotify) or hosted on an official website, such as an officialMyspacepage or a band's or record company's own website, may have a link placed in the External links section according toWikipedia guidelines.There should be a note regarding the media used ( "Adobe Flash"), and that it may not be available in all regions (" streamed copy where licensed "). Care should be taken that the site is hosting the content legally; that it does not meet any of thecriteria for links to be avoided;that, as a minimum, the site is accessible by the main English regions North America, UK and Australia; and that the link is formattedappropriately.Suggested formats are:

Live at Leeds(25th Anniversary Edition)(HTML5video) atExample Music Service(streamed copy where licensed)

It is recommended that ""is placed beside the link, and that a comment is made in the edit summary such as" External links: [[WP:ELYES]]#2; [[WP:MUSICSTREAM]] "

PerWP:ELREG,do not include streaming sites that require registration.

Article body

The following is a list of possible sections that could be included in an album article. Because not all albums are the same, it would be difficult to create a uniform list of mandatory sections, but it is generally preferred to have sections that are prose-heavy at the beginning and sections that are lists or tables (track listing, personnel, sales chart performance, etc.) toward the end. Only create sections for which information is available. For example: if there is only enough information to write a single sentence regarding an album's title, consider merging with a relevant section such as artwork or lyrics. If there is enough information about an album's title to write a well-sourced detailed piece using multiple paragraphs, then it may be worth designating its own section. Feel free to express your creativity andignore all of the rulesat any time you wish!

Background

It should not be assumed that the reader is familiar with the artist's history and/or previously released albums. If it's necessary to put these items into context for the reader to further their understanding of later content in the article, a background section is suggested. This section should discuss previous occasions in the artist's history and important events that had an impact on the album. For a band, musical ensemble, or comedy troupe, this could include the gaining and loss of group members or a notable changing of record labels. What did the artist do between this album and the last? Did the artist create a solo project that may have impacted the recording of this album? SeeAdore(The Smashing Pumpkins album)andIn Utero(album).

Style, writing, composition

There is rarely enough information for songs, tracks, or singles to all have their own individual articles (seeWP:NSONGS). It is recommended to merge already existing articles for short cuts that have little more than an infobox and a video description into a relevant album article.

Recording, production

Who is the producer? What other works of art is this producer known for? Keep the list of other works short, as the producer will likely have their own article with a more complete list. Has the producer previously worked with this artist before? Where was the album produced, and how long did it take to record? Were there any unique or standout recording techniques used during production (such asPhil Spectorand his famed use of anecho chamber)? Was the cost of recording especially high or low? Were there any innovative uses of technology?

Artwork, packaging

Albums are composed of not just the tracks themselves, but different styles of packaging and artwork that help create a visual statement to accompany the recording. A section can be created that explains the process of creating visuals and branding for an album, including any controversial content. Note that pictures of liner notes and album art must comply withfair use rules.

Release, promotion, marketing

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The date an album or track was leaked onto the Internet is not notable unless it results in some other action that is notable, such as being directly responded to by the artist or their management, or the leak itself receiving broad media coverage. Do not add leak dates to articles unless a notableconsequenceof the leak can be properly sourced to the same regular, reliable media sources that would be expected for any other content in the article. A website that announces album or track leaks but contains no other content (such as hasitleaked ) is not an appropriate source under the requirements ofWP:RS.

Touring

Concert tours are not always notable enough to warrant stand-alone articles (seeWP:NMG#Concert tours). Instead, information about notable tours and festivals should be incorporated into either the artist's page, or the album article for which the tour is supporting. Do not list all dates here, instead mention the range of dates (ex. June–September 1992). Aspects of concerts to be mentioned could include: financial and commercial success, other bands on the tour, stage set-up (lights, props, backdrop, etc.) and notable on-stage guest appearances.

Critical reception

A section should be dedicated to an overview of the critical reception of the album, as documented by reliable secondary sources such as reviews, books, or reputable articles that discuss the album. Be sure to note minority opinions as well, properly cited. Also, the way that the album affected the cultural consciousness of a society or culture should be included to further establish notability.

Professional reviews may include only reviews written by professional journalists or DJs, or found within any online or print publication having a (paid or volunteer) editorial and writing staff (which excludes personal blogs). The standard for inclusion always is that the review meet Wikipedia's guideline for reliable sources and that the source be independent of the artist, record company, etc. A list of some sources of professional reviews is available atWP:ALBUM/SOURCES.Lists can be considered as another source of reviews as to notability but due to their proliferation and the dubious value of some lists (e.g. the fictionalRolling Stone's 100 Greatest Punk Rock Albums of the Early 1980s), they are to be held to a higher standard. Lists should not be a simple enumeration but to be cited should include prose.

Album ratings templates

The bulk of the information should be in prose format, though the text may be supplemented with the{{Album ratings}}template, as a summary of professional reviews in table form. The template is not to be a substitute for a section in paragraph form, since a review cannot be accurately boiled down to a simple rating out of five stars or other scoring system. If an article is lacking a reception section in prose, but the information is presented in table format, you may optionally add the parameter| noprose = yesto the template to flag the section for expansion.

See the template instructions for more details but only use entries that have definable scales and include no more than ten reviews in table form. When choosing which reviews to include, consider the notability of the review source and keeping aneutral point of view.For older albums, try to include not just contemporary but also some more recent reviews.

{{Metacritic album prose}}provides some boilerplate language for defining whatMetacriticis and how the site works. It can be useful for introducing a critical reception section, since that site gives a reliable source for an overview of critical consensus.

Accolades

Accolades are prestigious awards given to an album by publications and associations. This could include an album of the year award or some other kind of recognition. Care should be taken when adding accolades. Some album of the year lists are given Alpha betically, in which case the numerical ranking will have no true value, and others are compiled by user submissions instead of the publication's staff members.

Controversy or legacy sections

In rare cases, an album will have further public reception outside of just critical assessments or sales figures. As necessary, add a section on particularly notable controversies related to an album or the legacy that a certain recording has had on a genre, or the reception by future generations of artists. Consider if the controversy can be addressed in a different section rather than one dedicated to it, such as the artwork listed above.

Track listing

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Sourcing

Track listings can be sourced to liner notes (WP:PRIMARY) as a definitiveWP:VERIFIABLEsource without the usualWP:SECONDARYsourcing requirements of most Wikipedia content. This is generally assumed and does not need explicit citation in most cases. Albums that have not yet been released will needWP:SECONDARYsources. If an editor thinks that a reference is necessary,{{Cite AV media notes}}can be used. However, if there is disagreement, there are other viable sources. Only provide a source for a track listing if there are exceptional circumstances, such as a dispute about the writers of a certain track. PerWP:AFFILIATE,avoid commercial sources such as online stores and streaming platforms. In the rare instances where outside citations are required, explanatory text is useful to help other editors know why the album's liner notes are insufficient.

Style and form

The track listing should be under aprimary headingnamed "Track listing".

A track listing should generally be formatted as anumbered list.

"Complete song title" (John Doe, Brian Smith) – 4:23
- First verse: Name of rapper
- Second verse: Name of rapper
- Samples: Name of sample source (preferably including artist, song, and album)
"Complete song title" (Doe, Kelly Kalamazoo) – 3:24
"Complete song title" (Doe, Kalamazoo, Smith, David Whitman) – 2:34

A link from the name of a song in a track listing should only link to a Wikipedia article about the song. Do not link to a related subject such as another album, a musical artist, or a topic related to the song title. Ared linkto an article that does not exist should only be added if the track merits the creation of an article per the notability guidelines atWikipedia:Notability (music)#Songs.

In more complicated situations (releases with a wide variety of writers/producers, compilations culled from multiple sources, etc.), a table or the{{Track listing}}template may be a better choice. If a table is used, it should be formatted using class= "wikitable", with column headings "No.","Title "and" Length "for the track number, the track title and the track length, respectively (seeHelp:Table). Note, however, that the track listing template forces a numbering system, so tracks originally listed as "A", "B", etc., or with other or no designations, will not appear as such when using the template. Additionally, in the case of multi-disc/multi-sided releases, a new template may be used for each individual disc or side, if applicable.

Track names should be in quotes in the track listing and in the rest of the article. A track that is a medley of multiple songs should be inside one set of quotes, like this: "Song 1/Song 2". Untitled tracks should be listed as Untitled (without quotes). If a track has an article of its own, the track name should link to that article.

Credits

The standard method of attributing writers is to write (and link) thefull namethe first time it appears, and then just give the last name (unless the first initial or entire first name is necessary to disambiguate it, as in the Gallagher brothers ofOasis,or Brad and Brett Warren ofthe Warren Brothers). If all tracks were written by the same person or group, this can be stated at the top as "All songs were written byGordon Gano."If several tracks were written by the same person or team, this can be stated as" All songs were written byGordon Gano,except where noted "or" All tracks written byDwight Yoakam;'Nothing' and 'Heart of Stone' co-written byKostas."

Track lengths

Track lengths should be included for each track. Use a spaceden dash(–) rather than ahyphen(-) as a dividing horizontal punctuation mark before the track length. (Note that they may both look the same in the edit box.) You can insert it from the special character list below the edit box (seeHelp:Special characters) or copy and paste it from here. You can also add it by writing –HTML entityto the edit box (like this "–" ) but this makes the code less readable. If you think that this is too difficult, you can still use a hyphen, and hope that someone is going to change it into a dash. This holds true both in "Track listing" and "Personnel" sections.

Particularly for hip hop albums, it is helpful to list which members of a group (or guests) rap on which verses as well as mentioning sampling sources. Certain collaborative albums can employ a similar style, for instance,the ChieftainsalbumTears of Stonefeatures a guest vocalist for each track. Note that this does not replace the personnel section but complements it: listing guest vocalists or producers of individual tracks within the track listing doesn't exempt them from being outlined in the personnel section.

Releases with multiple discs/sides

If the album was released primarily onCDand spans multiple discs, these should be listed separately under sub-headings named "Disc one", "Disc two" and so on. Similarly, albums originally released primarily onvinylorcassetteshould list the tracks of each side separately under sub-headings named "Side one", "Side two", etc. In all instances, the tracks should be numbered and/or listed to accurately reflect the predominant format of the original release.

The track numberings should start at 1 for each disc, likethis,as opposed to continuous numbering, likethis.

An example of the "Disc one" / "Disc two" or "Side one" / "Side two" type track listing follows:

Disc one

"First Track" – 34:11
"Track 2" – 15:10

Disc two

"Third Time's a Charm" – 53:19

Alternative track listings

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Include track listings for alternative editions and bonus tracks only when they are significantly differentandwhen the tracks are the subject of extensive commentary in the article — such as information about their recording, musical content or critical response. SeeIn Rainbows#In Rainbows Disk 2for an example of an alternative track listing that meets the criteria. Otherwise, notable differences can be summarised in the prose in lieu of additional track lists.

Examples

The following examples all show the track listing forBefore These Crowded StreetsbyDave Matthews Band,using each of the methods discussed above.

Numbered/nested list

"Pantala Naga Pampa"(Dave Matthews) – 0:40
"Rapunzel"(Matthews,Stefan Lessard,Carter Beauford) – 6:00
- Guest musician:Butch Taylor
"The Last Stop"(Matthews, Lessard) – 6:57
- Guest musician:Béla Fleck
"Don't Drink the Water"(Matthews) – 7:01
- Guest musicians:Alanis Morissette,Fleck
"Stay (Wasting Time)"(Matthews, Lessard,LeRoi Moore) – 5:35
- Guest musicians: Tawatha Agee, Cindy Myzell, Brenda White King
"Halloween"(Matthews) – 5:07
- Guest musicians: Morissette, John D'earth,Kronos Quartet
"The Stone"(Matthews) – 7:28
- Guest musicians: D'earth, Kronos Quartet
"Crush"(Matthews) – 8:09
- Guest musicians: Taylor
"The Dreaming Tree"(Matthews, Lessard) – 8:48
- Guest musician:Greg Howard
"Pig"(Matthews, Lessard, Beauford, Moore,Boyd Tinsley) – 6:57
"Spoon"(Matthews) – 7:33
- Guest musicians: Morissette, Fleck

{{Track listing}}template

*Before These Crowded Streets*track listing
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Guest artist(s)	Length
1.	"Pantala Naga Pampa"	Dave Matthews		0:40
2.	"Rapunzel"	Matthews,Stefan Lessard,Carter Beauford	Butch Taylor	6:00
3.	"The Last Stop"	Matthews, Lessard	Béla Fleck	6:57
4.	"Don't Drink the Water"	Matthews	Alanis Morissette,Fleck	7:01
5.	"Stay (Wasting Time)"	Matthews, Lessard,LeRoi Moore	Tawatha Agee, Cindy Myzell, Brenda White King	5:35
6.	"Halloween"	Matthews	Morissette, John D'earth,Kronos Quartet	5:07
7.	"The Stone"	Matthews	D'earth, Kronos Quartet	7:28
8.	"Crush"	Matthews	Taylor	8:09
9.	"The Dreaming Tree"	Matthews, Lessard	Greg Howard	8:48
10.	"Pig"	Matthews, Lessard, Beauford, Moore,Boyd Tinsley		6:57
11.	"Spoon"	Matthews	Morissette, Fleck	7:33

Table

*Before These Crowded Streets*track listing
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Guest artist(s)	Length
1.	"Pantala Naga Pampa"	Dave Matthews		0:40
2.	"Rapunzel"	Matthews,Stefan Lessard,Carter Beauford	Butch Taylor	6:00
3.	"The Last Stop"	Matthews, Lessard	Béla Fleck	6:57
4.	"Don't Drink the Water"	Matthews	Alanis Morissette,Fleck	7:01
5.	"Stay (Wasting Time)"	Matthews, Lessard,LeRoi Moore	Tawatha Agee, Cindy Myzell, Brenda White King	5:35
6.	"Halloween"	Matthews	Morissette, John D'earth,Kronos Quartet	5:07
7.	"The Stone"	Matthews	D'earth, Kronos Quartet	7:28
8.	"Crush"	Matthews	Taylor	8:09
9.	"The Dreaming Tree"	Matthews, Lessard	Greg Howard	8:48
10.	"Pig"	Matthews, Lessard, Beauford, Moore,Boyd Tinsley		6:57
11.	"Spoon"	Matthews	Morissette, Fleck	7:33

Note that in the latter two examples, a caption is required perMOS:TABLECAPTION.

Personnel

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WP:PERSONNEL

A personnel section should be included under a primary heading "Personnel" and should generally be formatted as abulleted listof names and forms of participation, with spaceden dashesbetween the two (seetrack listing section). The names should always be linked if an article exists. The forms of participation (for example, instruments) should be written in lowercase (except for proper nouns such asHammond organorDobro), delimited by commas, and linked on the first occurrence only. Remember topipethe links if needed. Note that "bass" can commonly refer to either abass guitaror adouble bassand should be named accordingly. Do not link common instruments (seeWP:OVERLINK). Wikilinks may be omitted if the instrument is unlikely to have its own article (such asPaul Franklin's "Pedabro" ). Similar to the track listing requirements, it is generally assumed that a personnel section is sourced from the liner notes. In some cases, it will be necessary to use third-party sources to include performers who are not credited in the liner notes. If you need to cite these, use{{Cite AV media}}for the liner notes and do not use third party sources such as stores (perWP:AFFILIATE) or scans uploaded to image hosting sites orDiscogs(perWP:RS).

Johnny Bee – guitar
Sally Morris –glockenspiel,guitar, organ,kazoo
Mike Yaris – producer

Note that the format used here is "[Name] – [instrument]" (Johnny Bee – guitar). Do not use the format "[Name] – [role]" (such as "Johnny Bee – guitarist"). This means that you should employ"guitars"rather than"guitarist".Also, do not use parentheses in the format thatAllMusicuses— "steel guitar",not"guitar (steel)".

If the number of participants is longer than 20, the list should be divided with a column template such as{{div col}}or{{col-begin}}.In instances where there are several contributors to an album, it may be useful to delineate different groups using sub-headings. To create these sub-headings, use the equal sign (=) followed by the text for different types of performers or technical personnel. An example follows below:

Johnny and the Bees

Johnny Bee – guitar
Sally Morris –glockenspiel,guitar, organ,kazoo

Additional musicians

Tom Example – guitar
Jane Fake –hurdy-gurdy

Technical personnel

Jim Audio –mastering
The Nobodys – producer
Mike Yaris – producer (on "Song #1" )
Jane Zebulon – artwork

There is no standard format for how these different types of groupings should be arranged—let circumstance dictate how to best present this information. In the case of an album released by a band, it might be useful to have the band members separated from other musicians and technical personnel. In cases where there are several artists who have created the sleeve and liner notes, a separate section may be useful for artwork. If an album has been re-released in a deluxe or modified edition, separating the personnel from different releases can make the personnel section more intelligible. It's generally preferable to list the album's personnel in the same order that they are listed on the album packaging; however, local consensus may instead determine to list them in another order.

If citing from AllMusic, donotinclude "composer" credits. The "composer" field on AllMusic is merely a reiteration of the writers included on the album, so including it is redundant to the writer credits in the track listing. Also, do not include redundant credits such as "musician". Furthermore, many AllMusic listings are incomplete or contain typos, so it may be preferable to use other sources when verifying musicians.

In some instances, an album will have a wide variety of performers from track to track. In these cases, it is helpful to list which tracks feature which performers. This can be done in one of two ways: by listing the track's name and then giving a list of performers, or by providing a single list of performers which notes parenthetically which tracks feature this artist. Here is a by-track example of the first method:

"Song #1"

Johnny Bee – guitar
Sally Morris –glockenspiel,guitar, organ,kazoo
Mike Yaris – producer

"Song #2"

Johnny Bee – guitar
Tom Example – guitar
Jane Fake –hurdy-gurdy
The Nobodys – producer

And here is an example of a single unified list:

Johnny Bee – guitar
Tom Example – guitar (on "Song #2" )
Jane Fake –hurdy-gurdy(on "Song #2" )
Sally Morris –glockenspiel,guitar, organ,kazoo(on "Song #1" )
The Nobodys – producer (on "Song #2" )
Mike Yaris – producer (on "Song #1" )

Note that in the second example, since Johnny Bee plays guitar throughout the album, he is not credited "guitar (on 'Song #1' and 'Song #2')" but simply with "guitar". It is only necessary to use this notation for performers who do not play their instrument(s) throughout the album. Let clarity, necessity, and utility to the reader guide how you lay out information like this—if a single list is likely to be less confusing, then use it; if a track-by-track breakdown is helpful, use that. Different styles will be employed on different articles for their individual needs and it is not necessary to try to impose a single method of listing performers on every album article. Consider using track titles instead of the format "Tom Example – guitar (on 2, 5, and 8)"; this is particularly recommended when different editions of an album have different track listings.

The credits to an album can be extensive or sparse. Some albums have credits for members of management teams, web designers, andartists and repertoirerepresentatives who have little if anything to do with the creation of an album. Additionally, sometimes liner notes can have long lists of thank yous to individuals who were completely unrelated. These unrelated individuals should not be listed—only report artistic and technical personnel who had some direct involvement in the creation of the recording or artwork itself. This can include performers, photographers and graphic artists, painters and illustrators, liner note authors, engineers, producers, audio mi xing and mastering specialists, and more. Conversely, some albums do not specify which musicians played on which tracks, or do not credit by instrument at all; in such cases, cite specific tracks or instruments only when a reliable source confirms it. For instance, Caitlyn Smith sings background vocals on "All the Pretty Girls",but this is credited neither on AllMusic nor inthe album'sliner notes. Also,Hard Times on Easy Streetincludes a list of contributing artists, but does not specify instruments at all.

Note also that some liner notes are vague or inaccurate—in such cases, cite reliable secondary sources to inform readers of who was actually responsible for creating the album. For instance,My Chartreuse Opinionby Scott McCaughey and the Minus 5 lists Bob Dylan as a drummer in what is clearly a joke; it would not be appropriate to actually include this reference, nor to add this album to theBob Dylan discography.Similarly, the Dylan albumStreet-Legaluses some vague titles for some of the contributors—producer Don DeVito is listed as "Captain in Charge". In this instance, it's not clear what some of the contributors actually did, so providing these titles with an explanatory note on their nature is the best information we can provide the reader. Secondary sources outlining how they actually contributed to the recordings should be sought for clarity.

Charts

If an album has successfully charted on any country's top albums charts, such as the USBillboard200or theUK Albums Chart,a section should be made displaying the chart information. If an album charts in only one or two countries, a table may not be necessary, but is still acceptable.

WP:GOODCHARTSis a list compiled of charting information that can be referenced. Each ranking should have an associated reference to the chart it is taken from or the searchable archive where the information can be obtained.

The template{{Albumchart}}exists to help you create an ordered and structured representation of an album's appearances on sales charts.

Certifications and sales figures

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WP:ALBUM/CERT

An album that achieves a certain amount of sales or shipments to retailers within a country receives an award in the form of acertification.An album's certification can be worked into the body of the article, or a table can be created if an album has achieved multiple certifications. If done as a table, certifications may be included by using{{Certification Table Top}},{{Certification Table Entry}},{{Certification Table Summary}},and{{Certification Table Bottom}},which can also add automatic sourcing, but this is not required.{{Certification}}may be used with individual certification entries.

Release history

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WP:RELEASEHISTORY

Albums are often released on different dates, on different labels, and on different formats in different regions. This information can be included in a table. Note that the infobox should only include the first release date and label. SeeWikipedia:Manual of Style/Accessibility/Data tables tutorialfor the proper way to include semantic elements such ascolandrowscopes and table captions and summaries.

Release formats forGeneric Album
Region	Date	Label	Format	Catalog
United Kingdom	November 22, 1968	Apple Records	mono double LP	PMC 7067-8
United Kingdom	November 22, 1968	Apple Records	stereodouble LP	PCS 7067-8
United States	November 25, 1968	Apple,Capitol Records	double LP	SWBO 101
Worldwide reissue	July 20, 1987	Apple,Parlophone,EMI	double CD	CDP 7 46443-4 2
Japan	March 11, 1998	Toshiba-EMI	double CD	TOCP 51119-20
Japan	January 21, 2004	Toshiba-EMI	remasteredLP	TOJP 60139-40

Bottom of the article

References

Placing a{{Reflist}}template at the bottom of the article will collect all of the inline citations that have been placed within <ref> </ref> tags. It is recommended to usecitation templatesthat automatically format the reference correctly. In situations where print media such as books and magazines are heavily used, ashortened footnotesreference system is suggested. In situations where too many large citations makes editing a difficult task, alist-defined referencesystem will collect the bulk of the reference coding at the bottom of the article. SeeWP:CITEVARfor the different ways to style citations.

Take care inidentifying reliable sourcesthat are added to articles. User generated websites and other wiki-type websites such asDiscogsorRate Your Musicshould never be used as sources. Social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter shouldrarely be used.If the information on sites such as these is truly noteworthy, established publications will likely write about it. For a suggested list of good sources for album articles, seeWikipedia:WikiProject Albums/Sources.

External links

Shortcut

WP:ALBUMSEL

Album articles may contain anexternal links sectionof links to relevant external resources about the album. Links to resources about the artist rather than the album do not need to be included here, as these should be linked from the artist's article instead. Links to individual reviews shouldn't be included here; instead, add prose describing the reviews to a "Reception" section and link the reviews incitations.Appropriate links may include links to chords or lyrics for the tracks on the album. Note however that lyrics may be protected by copyright, and external resources that reprint lyrics may be violating that copyright, in which case theyshould not be linked.

Some common links that are included here are the official site or page for the album (using{{official website}}), accompanying documentation such as a press release or documentary, or links to external album databases like{{AllMusic}},{{discogs release}},or{{MusicBrainz release}}.Critical reception overviews like AcclaimedMusic (using{{Acclaimed Music}}), AnyDecentMusic?, or Metacritic may be appropriate as well.

In rare instances, you can add links to our sister projects via{{sister projects}}and can also use templates such as{{Portal}}or{{Portalbar}}to include links to relevant portals. SeeCategory:Music portalsfor relevant options.

Navbox

If the artist already has anavbox,add it after the external links section but before the list of categories. If the artist has a significant collection of releases and/or related articles, and does not yet have an existing navbox, the documentation for creating this template is in the above link. Because this tool is a navigational aid, it is not recommended to add releases that do not have existing articles.

Authority control

Add{{authority control}}before categories.

Categorization

PerWP:CATEGORY,an album may be categorized by a characteristic (such as producer, composer, record-label, etc.) only if it is adefiningcharacteristic of the album (i.e. reliable, secondary sources commonly and consistentlydefinethe album as having the characteristic—not just mention it in passing or for completeness).

Year-of-release is normally a defining characteristic for every album. For other characteristics, if an album is defined by a particular characteristic, then it is likely that the object of the characteristic (e.g. "albums produced by X" ) will be notablein that capacityand qualify (perWP:NOTABLEandWP:MUSIC) for its own Wikipedia article: if such an article does not exist, then the characteristic is probablynotdefining.
Consensus is that "Albums produced by X" categories should not be included unless that particular producer worked on a significant portion of the album.
Where a team of people is credited for a characteristic (e.g. composer, producer), the official credit must not be split into multiple categories for individual team members.^[1]So, for example, if Y is a member of an album's production team X, categorization may not be as 'albums produced by Y'; 'albums produced by X' might however, be included as a related category of 'albums produced by Y', or the album might be categorized directly as 'Y' (perhaps in addition to 'albums produced by X').
- If Producers X and Y worked on the entire album together, but those producers have never taken on a "team" credit, then it is acceptable to categorize the album as being produced by both. (For instance,Buddy CannonandNorro Wilsonoften co-produced albums in the 1990s, but their co-productions never had a unified credit, and both have significant solo production credits.)
For an example of where a characteristic might warrant split-categorization, consider an album that is defined as being "a world-wide commercial success"; in this case, as there is no world-wide sales certification body, several categorizations may be made per appropriate national or regional sales certification bodies.
Characteristics that commonly define one class of album might not define another class of album. E.g. 'conducted-by' commonly defines classical-music albums but rarely, if ever, defines rock-music albums. 'Produced-by' sometimes defines pop- and rock-music albums, but rarely defines classical-music albums. Large record-label companies don't often qualify as a defining characteristic of an album; small, specialized record-labels however, may.
If the above seems to disallow grouping articles as you think they should be, consider using an alternative mechanism such as a list-article (seeWP:CLN).

Current categories

Click on "►" below to display subcategories:
Albums

The major "top-level" categories are as follows:

Artist name and date of release

Most album articles should be placed in the two categories,Category:<Artist name> albumsandCategory:<year> albums,which should be sub-categories of the respective top-level category. Note that all albums are required to be subcategorized by date into the most specific category that you can find underCategory:Albums by yearorCategory:Albums by decade.(For our purposes, album dates are determined by release, not recording. Thus,A Love Supremebelongs underCategory:1965 albums,as it was released in February of that year and notCategory:1964 albums,even though it was recorded on December 9 of that year.) If you cannot determine the exact year in which an album was released, that article should also be placed into the maintenance categoryCategory:Album articles without a by-year category.All albums should also be subcategorized by artist. If there is no category for that artist, then one should be created—these artist categories are themselves categorized by artist nationality and genre. For consistency, the artist name should be the same as the title of their article (in terms of punctuation, "&" / "and", use of "The", etc.) In exceptional cases, album by artist categories should be omitted—the most common case being various artist compilations, which will not be credited to any one artist. Note thatsplit albumsshould be categorized by the contributing artists, though.

For example,Reign in BloodbySlayerwas released in 1986 so it has the categoriesCategory:Slayer albumsandCategory:1986 albums.To add it to these categories, you would place the following code at the bottom of the article:

[[Category:1986 albums]]
[[Category:Slayer albums]]

Category:Slayer albumsis a sub-category ofCategory:Albums by artist,Category:Albums by American artists(which is a sub-category ofCategory:Albums by artist nationality) andCategory:Thrash metal albums(which is a sub-sub-sub-category ofCategory:Albums by genre).Category:1986 albumsis a sub-category ofCategory:Albums by year.

Note that albums are only categorized according to the artist who is credited with the release. Consequently,Kind of Blueis categorized underCategory:Miles Davis albumsand notCategory:John Coltrane albums,even though Coltrane is a sideman appearing on that recording. Similarly,Led Zeppelin IIis categorized underCategory:Led Zeppelin albumsand notCategory:Robert Plant albumsas Plant was a member of Led Zeppelin at the time—the latter category is only for his solo work.

Previous discussions have formed the consensus that a category for an artist's albums should be created even if they have only released one album (irrespective of whether they are likely to release more in the future). Please ensure that every category you create belongs to at least one other category, otherwise, it cannot be navigated to and will be listed atSpecial:Uncategorizedcategories.

Album type

Albums should not be directly categorized by type, so categories such asCategory:Remix albumsandCategory:Video albumsshould bediffusedto keep from getting too large to navigate.

Note that categories of albums by year can also be subdivided into specific categories where appropriate:Category:Compilation albums by year(which also containsCategory:Greatest hits albums by year),Category:EPs by year,Category:Remix albums by year,Category:Soundtrack albums by year,andCategory:Video albums by year.There are also schemes for categorizing Christmas albums by year (Category:Christmas albums by year) and debut albums by year (Category:Debut albums by year.)

Artist nationality

Album articles should never be categorized directly underCategory:Albums by artist nationality—this is only acontainer categoryfor other categories such asCategory:Albums by Canadian artists.Subcategories of this scheme will usually only contain categories themselves: for instance,Category:Rush (band) albumsis a subcategory ofCategory:Albums by Canadian artists;it is not necessary to place individual Rush album articles such asRoll the BonesintoCategory:Albums by Canadian artists,as they are all subcategorized in that scheme already.

Genre

Usually, albums will not directly be categorized by genre—this is accomplished by way of categorizing the album by artist andthatcategory by genre. For instance,Pet Soundsis not categorized directly underCategory:Pop rock albums,because it is inCategory:The Beach Boys albumsandthatis categorized underCategory:Pop rock albums.This article does belong inCategory:Progressive pop albums,though, as the album by artist category is not under it. Not all Beach Boys albums wereprogressive pop,but most werepop rock.To use another example, all Joan Baez albums are categorized as folk albums, sinceCategory:Joan Baez albumsis a subcategory ofCategory:Folk albums by American artists(note that the latter category is an intersection of bothCategory:Folk albumsandCategory:Albums by American artists.) The albumOne Day at a Timefeatured country music material, so only that album is categorized underCategory:Country albums by American artists.Baez's music cannot be characterized as country, so it is not appropriate to categorize all of her albums this way.

As mentioned above, there is a scheme for categorizing the intersection of an album's artist nationality and genre: this serves the purpose of diffusing very large artist nationality categories such asCategory:Albums by American artistsand very large genre categories such asCategory:Rock albumsby creatingCategory:Rock albums by American artists.Even this category is large enough to be diffused with subcategories such asCategory:Folk rock albums by American artists.It is neither necessary nor desirable to create intersection categories for every genre and artist nationality—let thegeneral principles of categorization on Wikipediaguide you in determining whether or not one of these intersection categories needs to exist.

Language

All albums can be categorized by language. For albums lacking vocals,Category:Instrumental albumsexists. Note that an album can be in an indefinite amount of language categories. By consensus, English-language categories have been deleted.

Ordering of categories

Be sure that the categories are sorted properly. Use the {{DEFAULTSORT:}}magic wordto control the Alpha betization on the category page. For example:

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kinks, The}}
[[Category:1964 albums]]
[[Category:The Kinks albums]]

Note that albums should be Alpha betized using the first letter of the title, while artists should be Alpha betized aslast name, first name.

Redirects

Finally, note that consensus has determined that everything written here about categorizing album articles applies to redirects about albums as well. These can—and should—be categorized in the same fashion as full-fledged articles, so long as the target article contains verifiable information of such categorization. Note thatCategory:Redirects from albumsexists to contain such redirects. Add articles to this category by using{{R from album}}.

Creating categories

If you choose to make a category for organizing album articles, please bear in mind the following considerations:

Category schemes of any kind that are about artists, genre, labels, or producers that do not have an article on Wikipedia are going to be deleted. Please consider creating a properly-sourced article that establishes the notability of the artist, genre, label, or producer first and then create the appropriate category.
Two templates exist to help in generating text and tracking for album categories.{{Album label category}}is used for subcategories ofCategory:Albums by record label.{{Albums category}}is used on subcategories ofCategory:Albums by artist.Both of them are useful for providing links to the main article, giving contextual information perWP:CAT,and for directing users to this style guide. The latter template also includes search functionality to help editors find articles to put into the appropriate category.

More style suggestions

Notes

^Otherwise, the categorization loses potency as it is no longer per thedefiningcharacteristic; also, the official (legal) credit could be misconstrued (category names may be seen in the article unordered, disjoint, or incomplete)

[1] Otherwise, the categorization loses potency as it is no longer per thedefiningcharacteristic; also, the official (legal) credit could be misconstrued (category names may be seen in the article unordered, disjoint, or incomplete)

[1]

v t e WikiProject Albums
Departments	Assessment Participants Popular pages Requested articles Sources Stub templates and categories Style guide To do
Templates	Barnstar Infobox Project banner Ratings Charts Track listing Userbox Liner notes citation
Other pages	New articles Notability Uploading cover art
Related projects	Concert tours Composers Discographies Music Music samples Musicians/bands Record charts Record labels Record Production Songs Christian music
Essays	Genre Warriors TenPoundHammer's Law
Categories	Wikiproject Albums Albums articles Albums participants Albums templates

General advice

Naming

Formatting

Capitalization

"The"

Dating

Disambiguating links

Linking to source material

Top of the article

Wiki tags

Infobox

Lead

Article body

Background

Style, writing, composition

Recording, production

Artwork, packaging

Release, promotion, marketing

Touring

Critical reception

Album ratings templates

Accolades

Controversy or legacy sections

Track listing

Sourcing

Style and form

Credits

Track lengths

Releases with multiple discs/sides

Alternative track listings

Examples

Personnel

Charts

Certifications and sales figures

Release history

Bottom of the article

References

External links

Navbox

Authority control

Categorization

Current categories

Artist name and date of release

Album type

Artist nationality

Genre

Language

Ordering of categories

Redirects

Creating categories

More style suggestions

See also

Notes