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{{official style guideline}}
These are the official style guidelines for data entry into the [[MusicBrainz]] database. You can find the original and uneditable [http://www.musicbrainz.org/style.html official style guidelines] on the homepage. This here is a Wiki version of these guidelines to which you can add questions, discussion and links, links, links.


The following style guidelines outline how the data in MusicBrainz should be formatted and organized. If you would like to participate in the editing process, please take a moment to review these guidelines. If you require further assistance take a look at the [[Users Mailing List|users mailing list]].
''Do not change the guidelines themselves'', unless you are a member of the [[Style Council|StyleCouncil]]. If you have ideas for new style guidelines or changes, please send them to the [[Style Mailing List|StyleMailingList]] (if you are new to [[MusicBrainz]], ask on the [[Users Mailing List|UsersMailingList]] first). They might then be added to [[Proposed Style Guideline|ProposedStyleGuideline]]s and eventually be made an OfficialStyleGuideline by the [[Style Council|StyleCouncil]].


Please ''do not change the guidelines on your own''. If you have an idea for new a style guideline, or would like to suggest changes to an existing style guideline, please send a [[Proposals|proposal]] to the [[Style Mailing List|Style Council]].
=Official Style Guidelines=


==About the style guidelines==
'''Status:''' ''Beware! This is work in progress! Most guidelines that have a page of their own are correct, but not all are done yet.''


The following [[Style Guidelines|style guidelines]] are those that have been officially sanctioned by the [[Style Council]].
It's important to know that these are '''guidelines''', not strict rules. The [[Style Principle|StylePrinciple]]s explain when guidelines should be applied and when they should not. Further, there are officially sanctioned style guideline exceptions (explained in [[Style Principle|StylePrinciple]]).


This page only contains an ultra-short description of each rule. You will find much more information on the page of the respective rule.
There are currently two places to find these guidelines (for more information on the transclusion mechanism see [[WikiDocs]]):
* On the MusicBrainz website at http://musicbrainz.org/doc/Official_Style_Guideline
*: This version of the official style guidelines is to be used when editing the database.
* On the MusicBrainz wiki at http://wiki.musicbrainz.org/Official_Style_Guideline
*: This version of the official style guidelines may differ from the above and include modifications or revisions that have not been made official yet.


===Album Titles===
==The Guidelines==


It's important to know that these are '''guidelines''', not strict rules. The [[Style Principle|style principles]] explain when guidelines should be applied and when they should not. There are also officially sanctioned [[Exceptions To The Style Guidelines|exceptions]] to the style guidelines.
* [[Separate Title Style|SeparateTitleStyle]] (This should be renamed to [[Subtitle Style 2|SubtitleStyle]]):
<ul><li style="list-style-type:none">Use a colon (:) to separate parts of a title: "''[[Album Title|AlbumTitle]]: [[Album Subtitle|AlbumSubtitle]]''".
</ul>
* [[Disc Number Style|DiscNumberStyle]]:
<ul><li style="list-style-type:none">Indicate disc numbers like this: "''[[Album Title|AlbumTitle]] (disc 2)''".
</ul>
* [[Disc Number With Name Style|DiscNumberWithNameStyle]]:
<ul><li style="list-style-type:none">If each disc has a name do it like this: "''[[Album Title|AlbumTitle]] (disc 2: [[Disc Name|DiscName]])''".
</ul>
* [[Single Disc Number Style|SingleDiscNumberStyle]]:
<ul><li style="list-style-type:none">Individual singles released with a disc number appended to the title should be standardised as "''[[Album Title|AlbumTitle]] (disc 2)''".
</ul>
* [[Series Number Style|SeriesNumberStyle]]:
<ul><li style="list-style-type:none">[[Volume Number|VolumeNumber]]"s are special: append them with a comma like this: "''[[Album Title|AlbumTitle]], [[Volume Number|VolumeNumber]]''". See [[Volume Number Style|VolumeNumberStyle]] for specific details.
</ul>
* [[Bonus Disc Style|BonusDiscStyle]]:
<ul><li style="list-style-type:none">For bonus discs add "'' (bonus disc)''" to the end.
</ul>
* [[Box Set Name Style|BoxSetNameStyle]]:
<ul><li style="list-style-type:none">Box sets are done like this: "''(box 5, disc 2)''".
</ul>
* [[Unnamed Bootleg Style|UnnamedBootlegStyle]]:
<ul><li style="list-style-type:none">untitled bootlegs should be labelled like this: "''2000-10-22: Las Vegas, NV, USA''".
</ul>
* [[Multiple Title Style|MultipleTitleStyle]]:
<ul><li style="list-style-type:none">Multiple albums on one disc and multiple songs on one track are separated by " / ". Yes, that's ''space, forward slash, space''.
</ul>
* [[EP Style|EPStyle]]:
<ul><li style="list-style-type:none">If the word "''EP''" is part of a title, it should be retained.
</ul>
* [[Soundtrack Title Style|SoundtrackTitleStyle]]:
<ul><li style="list-style-type:none">A soundtrack should be given the same title as the film, and should not include extra detail such as "Original Motion Picture Soundtrack" or similar descriptive information. Set the [[Album Attribute|AlbumAttribute]] to "Soundtrack".
</ul>


===Track Titles===
===Release titles===


The following guidelines apply to the [[Release Title|ReleaseTitle]] field:
* [[Versus Style|VersusStyle]]:
; [[Subtitle Style|Subtitle style]]
<ul><li style="list-style-type:none">About the uses of "versus" and how we deal with them.
: Use a colon (:) to separate parts of a title: "''[[Main Title|Main title]]: [[Subtitle|Subtitle]]''".
</ul>
* [[Remix Style|RemixStyle]]:
<ul><li style="list-style-type:none">How we deal with remixes and other versions of tracks (such as demo versions, etc).
</ul>
* [[Data Track Style|DataTrackStyle]]:
<ul><li style="list-style-type:none">[[Data Track|DataTrack]]s are named "''[data track]''".
</ul>
* [[Silence Track Style|SilenceTrackStyle]]:
<ul><li style="list-style-type:none">[[Silence Track|SilenceTrack]]s are named "''[silence]''".
</ul>
* [[Untitled Track Style|UntitledTrackStyle]]:
<ul><li style="list-style-type:none">Untitled tracks are named "''[untitled]''".
</ul>
* [[Series Number Style|SeriesNumberStyle]]:
<ul><li style="list-style-type:none">[[Part Number|PartNumber]]"s are special: append them with a comma like this: "''[[Track Title|TrackTitle]], [[Part Number|PartNumber]]''". See [[Part Number Style|PartNumberStyle]] for specific details.
</ul>
* [[Extra Title Information Style|ExtraTitleInformationStyle]]:
<ul><li style="list-style-type:none">This is a list of information that should be omitted from [[Album Title|AlbumTitle]]<code><nowiki></nowiki></code>s and [[Track Title|TrackTitle]]<code><nowiki></nowiki></code>s.
</ul>
* [[Track Attribute Style|TrackAttributeStyle]] (could be merged into the above [[Extra Title Information Style|ExtraTitleInformationStyle]]):
<ul><li style="list-style-type:none">Enter mix names and other track attributes in parenthesis after the title.
</ul>


; [[Disc Number Style|Disc number style]]
===Artists===
: Indicate [[Disc Number|disc numbers]] like this: "''[[Main Title|Main title]] (disc 2)''".
: If each disc has an extra title do it like this: "''[[Main Title|Main title]] (disc 2: [[Disc Title|Disc title]])''".
: For bonus discs add "'' (bonus disc)''" to the end.
: Individual singles released with a disc number appended to the title should be standardised as "''[[Main Title|Main title]] (disc 2)''".


* [[Featuring Artist Style|FeaturingArtistStyle]]:
; [[Series Number Style|Series number style]]
: [[Volume Number|Volume numbers]] are special: append them with a comma like this: "''[[Main Title|Main title]], [[Volume Number|Volume number]]''". See [[Volume Number Style|volume number style]] for specific details.
<ul><li style="list-style-type:none">When two artists collaborate, file the track under the primary artist, and append the name of the secondary artist to the [[Track Name|TrackName]] like this "''(feat. Everlast)''".
</ul>
* [[Unknown Artist Style|UnknownArtistStyle]]:
<ul><li style="list-style-type:none">If the artist is unknown, file the album/track under the ''[unknown]'' artist.
</ul>
* [[No Artist Style|NoArtistStyle]]:
<ul><li style="list-style-type:none">Recordings that have no artist should be filed under ''[no artist]''. This would be appropriate for silence, bird song etc.
</ul>
* [[Sortname Style|SortNameStyle]]:
<ul><li style="list-style-type:none">Discusses how [[Sortname|SortName]]s should be used.
</ul>


; [[Box Set Name Style|Box set name style]]
===General Guidelines===
: Box sets are done like this: "''(box 5, disc 2)''".


; [[Live Bootleg Style|Live bootleg style]]
* [[Capitalization Standard|CapitalizationStandard]]:
: Bootlegs should be labelled like this: "''2000-10-22: Las Vegas, NV, USA''".
<ul><li style="list-style-type:none">Discusses how titles should be capitalized in various languages.
</ul>
* [[Classical Style Guide|ClassicalStyleGuide]]:
<ul><li style="list-style-type:none">Discusses how details relating to classical music should be stored (also can be applied to musicals).
</ul>
* [[Miscellaneous Guideline|MiscellaneousGuideline]]s:
<ul><li style="list-style-type:none">Covers the little guidelines that aren't worthy of a whole wiki page all to themselves.
</ul>
* [[Abbreviation Style|AbbreviationStyle]]:
<ul><li style="list-style-type:none">Discusses our policy on abbreviations.
</ul>


; [[Multiple Title Style|Multiple title style]]
===Advanced Relationships===
: Multiple releases on one disc and multiple songs on one track are separated by " / ". Yes, that's ''space, forward slash, space''.


; [[EP Style|EP style]]
* [[Member Of Band Relationship Style|MemberOfBandRelationshipStyle]]:
: If the word "''EP''" or "''E.P.''" is part of a title, it should be retained.
<ul><li style="list-style-type:none">If a [[Band Member|BandMember]] is usually known by a particular [[Performance Name|PerformanceName]], use this to link them to the band instead of their [[Legal Name|LegalName]].
</ul>


===Album Attributes===
===Track titles===

; [[Versus Style|Versus style]]
: About the uses of "versus" and how we deal with them.

; [[Remix Style|Remix style]]
: How we deal with remixes and other versions of tracks (such as demo versions, etc).

; [[Data Track Style|Data track style]]
: [[Data Track|DataTrack]]s are named "''[data track]''".

; [[Untitled Track Style|Untitled track style]]
: Untitled tracks are named "''[untitled]''".
: Silence tracks are named "''[silence]''".
: Unknown tracks are named "''[unknown]''".

; [[Series Number Style|Series number style]]
: [[Part Number|Part numbers]] are special, append them with a comma like this: "''Title, [[Part Number|part number]]''". See [[Part Number Style|part number style]] for specific details.

; [[Extra Title Information Style|Extra title information style]]
: This is a list of information that should be omitted or included in [[Release Title|release titles]] and [[Track Title|track titles]].

===Artists===


; [[Featuring Artist Style|Featuring artist style]]
[[Album Attribute|AlbumAttribute]]<code><nowiki></nowiki></code>s define the type and status of an audio release and provide information about the contents of the release. Album attributes should apply to most of the tracks on the album. It's OK to have a couple of tracks that do not fit the album attribute, as long as the attribute applies to the album overall. This is just a brief summary of album attributes. Further detail can be found on the [[Album Attribute|AlbumAttribute]]s page.
: When two artists collaborate, file the track under the [[Primary Artist|primary artist]], and append the name of the [[Secondary Artist|secondary artist]] to the [[Track Title|track title]] like this "''(feat. Everlast)''".


; [[Release Artist Style|Release artist style]]
====Release type====
: This covers when to use one [[Primary Artist|primary artist]] and when to use [[Various Artists|various artists]] as [[Release Artist|release artist]] for a release. Note that the [[Classical Release Artist Style|classical release artist style]] spells out different rules for classical music.


; [[Special Purpose Artist|Special purpose artists]]
* '''Album''' - An album, perhaps better defined as a "Long Play" (LP) release, generally consists of previously unreleased material. This includes album re-issues, with or without bonus tracks.
: Several special artist listings ([anonymous], [data], [dialogue], [no artist], [unknown], and Various Artists) are approved for use when the artist is unknown, dialogue, nature sounds, data, etc. See this guideline for details on these artists.
* '''Single''' - A single typically has one main song and possibly a handful of additional tracks or remixes of the main track. A single is usually named after its main song. A single has different definitions in different markets, so if you are unsure please check the [[Album Attribute|AlbumAttribute]]s page.
* '''EP''' - An EP is a so-called "Extended Play" release and often contains the letters EP in the title.
* '''Compilation''' - A compilation is a collection of previously released tracks by one or more artists. Please note that this is a simplified description of a compilation. If you are unsure, please refer to the full description on the [[Album Attribute|AlbumAttribute]]s page.
* '''Soundtrack''' - A soundtrack is the musical score to a movie, TV series, stage show, computer game etc.
* '''Spokenword''' - Non-music spoken word releases.
* '''Interview''' - An interview release contains an interview, generally with an Artist.
* '''Audiobook''' - An audiobook is a book read by a narrator without music.
* '''Live''' - A release that was recorded live.
* '''Remix''' - A release that primarily contains remixed material.
* '''Other''' - Any release that does not fit or can't decisively be placed in any of the categories above.


; [[Sortname Style|Sortname style]]
====Release Status====
: Discusses how [[Artist Sort Name|artist sort names]] should be used.


===General guidelines===
* '''Official''' - Any release officially sanctioned by the artist and/or their record company. (Most releases will fit into this category.)
* '''Promotion''' - A giveaway release or a release intended to promote an upcoming official release. (e.g. prerelease albums or releases included with a magazine, versions supplied to radio DJs for air-play, etc).
* '''Bootleg''' - An unofficial/underground release that was not sanctioned by the artist and/or the record company.


; [[Capitalization Standard|Capitalization standard]]
----
: Discusses how titles should be capitalized in various languages.


; [[Classical Style Guide|Classical style guide]]
: Discusses how details relating to classical music should be stored (also can be applied to musicals). More specific details on [[Classical Release Artist Style|classical release artist style]].
----


; [[Miscellaneous Guideline|Miscellaneous guidelines]]
: Covers the little guidelines that aren't worthy of a whole wiki page all to themselves.


; [[Abbreviation Style|Abbreviation style]]
'''Warning:''' [[Image:Alert.png]] ''The following discussion does difinetely not belong here. I will delete this in a week or so (around 2005-08-16). If you care about some of this, then please include it in an appropriate page, maybe [[Miscellaneous Guideline|MiscellaneousGuideline]]. --[[User:DonRedman|DonRedman]]''
: Discusses our policy on abbreviations.


===Release attributes===
----


[[Release Attribute|Release attributes]] define the type and status of an audio release and provide information about the contents of the release. Release attributes should apply to most of the tracks on the release. It's OK to have a couple of tracks that do not fit the release attribute, as long as the attribute applies to the release overall.
What about band names in the form of "Somebody and The Somethings"? Is "&" preferable to "and" or vice versa? Or are both permissible? --[[novasoy]]


; [[Release Type|Release type]]
This follows the general rule: if the band themselves favour one form, then use that, and preferably providing some evidence to support your claim. (There has been some discussion about giving special meaning to '&', so that it is only used for temporary collaborations by generally independent artist, but this is only a proposal, and I personally think it's a bad one.) -- [[User:bawjaws|bawjaws]]
: A release can be set to one of the following release types: Album, Single, EP, Compilation, Soundtrack, Spokenword, Interview, Audiobook, Live, Remix, or Other. See [[Release Attribute|release attribute]] for a short summary and [[Release Type|release type]] for details.


; [[Release Language|Release language]]
Tarragon, it would be useful if there was somewhere in the Styleguidelines a link to where it explicitly said "do not add 'single' in the album name, instead add it in the album attributes" when voting on alot of newbie mods, I find myself using [http://www.musicbrainz.org/style.html Style] and its infinite 'link to the relevant portion of the styleguide' -ness quite often. it would be '''really''' useful if somehow I could have a similar link that stated the above about attributes not being in the name. [[User:mo|mo]]
: The language used in the [[Release Title|release title]] and [[Track Title|track titles]].


; [[Release Status|Release status]]
[[Category:To Be Reviewed]] [[Category:Style]] [[Category:Official Style]]
: A release can have one of the following statuses: Official, Promotion, or Bootleg. See [[Release Attribute|release attribute]] for a short summary and [[Release Status|release status]] for details.

Latest revision as of 18:39, 29 March 2012

Status: This Page is Glorious History!

The content of this page either is bit-rotted, or has lost its reason to exist due to some new features having been implemented in MusicBrainz, or maybe just described something that never made it in (or made it in a different way), or possibly is meant to store information and memories about our Glorious Past. We still keep this page to honor the brave editors who, during the prehistoric times (prehistoric for you, newcomer!), struggled hard to build a better present and dreamed of an even better future. We also keep it for archival purposes because possibly it still contains crazy thoughts and ideas that may be reused someday. If you're not into looking at either the past or the future, you should just disregard entirely this page content and look for an up to date documentation page elsewhere.

The following style guidelines outline how the data in MusicBrainz should be formatted and organized. If you would like to participate in the editing process, please take a moment to review these guidelines. If you require further assistance take a look at the users mailing list.

Please do not change the guidelines on your own. If you have an idea for new a style guideline, or would like to suggest changes to an existing style guideline, please send a proposal to the Style Council.

About the style guidelines

The following style guidelines are those that have been officially sanctioned by the Style Council.

There are currently two places to find these guidelines (for more information on the transclusion mechanism see WikiDocs):

The Guidelines

It's important to know that these are guidelines, not strict rules. The style principles explain when guidelines should be applied and when they should not. There are also officially sanctioned exceptions to the style guidelines.

Release titles

The following guidelines apply to the ReleaseTitle field:

Subtitle style
Use a colon (:) to separate parts of a title: "Main title: Subtitle".
Disc number style
Indicate disc numbers like this: "Main title (disc 2)".
If each disc has an extra title do it like this: "Main title (disc 2: Disc title)".
For bonus discs add " (bonus disc)" to the end.
Individual singles released with a disc number appended to the title should be standardised as "Main title (disc 2)".
Series number style
Volume numbers are special: append them with a comma like this: "Main title, Volume number". See volume number style for specific details.
Box set name style
Box sets are done like this: "(box 5, disc 2)".
Live bootleg style
Bootlegs should be labelled like this: "2000-10-22: Las Vegas, NV, USA".
Multiple title style
Multiple releases on one disc and multiple songs on one track are separated by " / ". Yes, that's space, forward slash, space.
EP style
If the word "EP" or "E.P." is part of a title, it should be retained.

Track titles

Versus style
About the uses of "versus" and how we deal with them.
Remix style
How we deal with remixes and other versions of tracks (such as demo versions, etc).
Data track style
DataTracks are named "[data track]".
Untitled track style
Untitled tracks are named "[untitled]".
Silence tracks are named "[silence]".
Unknown tracks are named "[unknown]".
Series number style
Part numbers are special, append them with a comma like this: "Title, part number". See part number style for specific details.
Extra title information style
This is a list of information that should be omitted or included in release titles and track titles.

Artists

Featuring artist style
When two artists collaborate, file the track under the primary artist, and append the name of the secondary artist to the track title like this "(feat. Everlast)".
Release artist style
This covers when to use one primary artist and when to use various artists as release artist for a release. Note that the classical release artist style spells out different rules for classical music.
Special purpose artists
Several special artist listings ([anonymous], [data], [dialogue], [no artist], [unknown], and Various Artists) are approved for use when the artist is unknown, dialogue, nature sounds, data, etc. See this guideline for details on these artists.
Sortname style
Discusses how artist sort names should be used.

General guidelines

Capitalization standard
Discusses how titles should be capitalized in various languages.
Classical style guide
Discusses how details relating to classical music should be stored (also can be applied to musicals). More specific details on classical release artist style.
Miscellaneous guidelines
Covers the little guidelines that aren't worthy of a whole wiki page all to themselves.
Abbreviation style
Discusses our policy on abbreviations.

Release attributes

Release attributes define the type and status of an audio release and provide information about the contents of the release. Release attributes should apply to most of the tracks on the release. It's OK to have a couple of tracks that do not fit the release attribute, as long as the attribute applies to the release overall.

Release type
A release can be set to one of the following release types: Album, Single, EP, Compilation, Soundtrack, Spokenword, Interview, Audiobook, Live, Remix, or Other. See release attribute for a short summary and release type for details.
Release language
The language used in the release title and track titles.
Release status
A release can have one of the following statuses: Official, Promotion, or Bootleg. See release attribute for a short summary and release status for details.
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