Very few musicians are suitable for inclusion in Wikipedia.
There are millions of musicians in the world, but only a small percentage of them are appropriate for Wikipedia. There must be enough reliable, third-party information about a musician to demonstrate public interest in him or her or a band. If a musician meets at least one of the items below, they may merit their own Wikipedia article, as there is probably a lot of verifiable information available about them and a lot of public interest in them. This list shows examples of level of notability required for Wikipedia:
A musician or ensemble (note that this includes a band, singer, rapper, orchestra, hip hop crew, DJ, musical theatre group, etc.) is notable if it meets any one of the following criteria:
- Has been featured in multiple non-trivial published works in reliable and reputable media (excludes school newspapers, personal blogs, download sites, YouTube, etc.).
- Has had a hit on a national music chart in at least one large or medium-sized country.[1]
- Has had a certified gold or platinum record in at least one large or medium-sized country.
- 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 list that includes several notable musicians).
- Has won a major music award, such as a Choice Music Prize, Grammy Award, Juno Award or Mercury Prize.
A song or album is notable if it meets any of the following:
- Has won a major award
- Is an official anthem of a notable state, region, province or territory
- Is a musical standard (e.g. a pop or jazz standard)
- Is a folk song, hymn or Christmas carol with a documented history of more than fifty years
Advertising: Wikipedia is not for advertising or promotion.
- It is not for announcing upcoming records that have not been released.
- It is not for announcing upcoming tours by music groups.
- It is not for promoting a new band.
Using Wikipedia for advertising is against official policy. If your article looks like promotion or an advertisement, it will probably be rejected and speedily deleted.
Does your proposed article meet the notability requirements?
My article is about notable music or musician(s)
My article might be seen as advertising (help!)
My article is about possibly non-notable music or musician(s) (what can I do?)
- ^ There are, at present, no precise definitions of a "small", "medium" or "large" country in this context. However, a very limited definition of "small" will generally be used, excluding only a few of the world's smallest countries.