Style/Artist: Difference between revisions

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{{Official style}}
=Artist=

When adding a new Artist to the database you can provide various pieces of information, of which the name is the most important.


==Name==
==Name==


The Artist Name is the official name of an [[Artist|artist]], be it a person or a band. In most cases, it's the name as found on releases' sleeves.
The artist name is the official name of an artist, whether it is a person, band, or character. In most cases, it is the name as found on releases.


Note that you can change how an artist is credited on a release or track when you enter that release. There is usually no need to add a new artist to the database if the artist is already present in our database under a (slightly) different name.
This is a simple concept, but there are complications to this caused by artists releasing material under different names, whether as side projects, collaborations with other artists, or due to changes in musical direction. The meaning of an artist name also changes subtly depending on the [[Artist Type|ArtistType]].


Keep in mind MusicBrainz is an international site, and "official name" doesn't necessarily mean "most common English name". For example, the "official name" for the Japanese composer [[artist:4e871dff-df89-45f5-857f-28067cdc9d5e|Tōru Takemitsu]] is "武満徹", not "Tōru Takemitsu" (which is the primary English alias instead).
The same name can be used for more than one artist. If you add a new artist that has the same name as an existing one, you will be required to enter a comment (see below).


===Definite articles and titles===
There are also the concepts of [[Performance Name|PerformanceName]] and [[Legal Name|LegalName]], either of which might be the official ArtistName. These two can be linked using the [[Performance Name Relationship Type|PerformanceNameRelationshipType]].
Only include [[wikipedia:wikt:definite_article|definite articles]] (like "The", "El" or "Der") and honorary titles (like "Sir" or "MBE") if they're actually used by the artist as part of its name. If it's not clear, leave them out, and just add them to the [[Style/Artist Credits|artist credit]] when printed.


*[[artist:ce8cacb6-c917-41f5-b403-8fb601c89e70|Glenn Miller Orchestra]] doesn't have an article on their official name (but [[release:5b45204b-5de5-4192-a416-fd73dd1e2ca2|In the Nutcracker Mood]] is credited to "The Glenn Miller Orchestra").
Note that you can change how an artist is credited on a release or track when you enter that release. There is no need to add a new artist to the database if the artist is already present in our database under a (slightly) different name.
*[[artist:ba550d0e-adac-4864-b88b-407cab5e76af|Paul McCartney]] has been knighted. He doesn't usually perform or record as "Sir Paul McCartney", so "Sir" shouldn't be part the artist name (but he is credited as "Sir Paul McCartney" in [[release:592302f9-09a8-4309-9113-9965cd6350e0|A Garland for Linda]]).

===Performance names and legal names===
Generally, use the name the artist mainly performs under as the artist name. Alternative names, including any legal names and name variations, should generally be entered as [[Aliases|aliases]], and can be used in artist credits and relationship credits when appropriate.

* [[artist:4a4ee089-93b1-4470-af9a-6ff575d32704|The Prodigy]] have an alias of (and some releases credited to) "Prodigy".
* [[artist:7c20f558-d664-42bd-b6f1-81acf9dbb72d|t.A.T.u.]] were originally known as "Тату" in Russia (they later used "t.A.T.u." everywhere).
* [[artist:42922db2-2e80-44b8-9cdf-0b3a6634c124|Yazoo]] are known as "Yaz" in the USA after a lawsuit from another American artist called Yazoo.

In some cases, a person (or, more rarely, a group) can perform under multiple names that they actually consider different projects, and not just alternative names. In that case, you should add each artist separately. If they're a person, a separate legal name artist should be added, and linked to all performance names with the [[rt:dd9886f2-1dfe-4270-97db-283f6839a666|is person ("performs as")]] relationship. In this case, do not add legal name aliases to the performance names. For groups, just link each group to their members.

* [[artist:a343493e-42f5-47cf-9ccf-9f399aafbe10|Tomoko Kawase]] performs under two different personas, with different styles: [[artist:ec53333e-2067-44ba-8222-79a40cbef550|Tommy february⁶]] and [[artist:02b99ce4-adae-474b-bd30-37a00e0af272|Tommy heavenly⁶]].
* [[artist:965f5705-6eb1-49a1-b312-cd3d65bcc7c9|Calvin Broadus]] is most known as [[artist:f90e8b26-9e52-4669-a5c9-e28529c47894|Snoop Dogg]], but has a reggae side project, [[artist:960db060-0ba8-4f6c-9770-49b81dc6e5ea|Snoop Lion]].

===Trans artists===
If a trans artist changes their performance name to match their gender, always use the current name, not a deadname, as the artist name (even if more releases exist under the deadname at the time of the edit).


==Sort name==
==Sort name==


See the guideline for [[/Sort Name|sort names]].
The "artist sort name" is a variant of the artist name that will be used when the artist is listed with other artists.

== Disambiguation comment==

Disambiguation comments should be short but informative. See more at [[Disambiguation Comment]].

==Area==

===Main area===
For people, use the country where they were born and raised. For groups, use the country where the band was formed. For characters, use the country where the character was created. If the artist is predominantly active in a different country, use that country instead.

* [[artist:f27ec8db-af05-4f36-916e-3d57f91ecf5e|Michael Jackson]] has the area [[area:489ce91b-6658-3307-9877-795b68554c98|United States]].
* [[artist:b10bbbfc-cf9e-42e0-be17-e2c3e1d2600d|The Beatles]] have the area [[area:8a754a16-0027-3a29-b6d7-2b40ea0481ed|United Kingdom]].

If an artist is most commonly associated with an area smaller than a country, select that instead.


* [[artist:dea28aa9-1086-4ffa-8739-0ccc759de1ce|Berliner Philharmoniker]] has the area [[area:c9ac1239-e832-41bc-9930-e252a1fd1105|Berlin]].
The idea is to ensure that all the artists that start with "The" will not end up under "T". This also applies to artists who have regular names like Eric Clapton, but not to bands that have fictitious names like Cypress Hill. Sort names should contain all the accented characters that are present in the name of the artist.
* [[artist:d75d1f08-bbb8-4eae-9877-399ca9121197|Mobb Deep]] have the area [[area:675bbb61-a94a-4b54-9242-1fbf81a46ee6|Queensbridge]].


===Begin and end area===
Think of the sort name as being the name that would place the artist where you would expect to find it alphabetically (e.g. in a record shop).
Use as precise an area as you can (city or region are better than just country). Remember for people this means birth and death locations, rather than where they started their career.


* [[artist:4d5447d7-c61c-4120-ba1b-d7f471d385b9|John Lennon]] was born in [[area:c249c30e-88ab-4b2f-a745-96a25bd7afee|Liverpool]] and died in [[area:261962ea-d8c2-4eaf-a80c-f14376ffadb0|Manhattan]].
The guidelines for [[Sortname Style|SortNameStyle]] are complex, please take a look at them if you're editing or voting on a [[Sortname|SortName]].


==Comment==
==Gender==


Use the gender the artist identifies as. Use "non-binary" if the artist identifies as something other than "male" or "female". Also use "non-binary", as the widest option, for anything that would seem to require more than one gender, since that is not currently possible (e.g. "non-binary trans woman").
The comment is a field in the database used to help users distinguish between [[Identically Named Artists|identically named artists]].


For characters, the fictional gender of the character should be used. This might not match the gender of a person who performed the character.
It will appear in the search results next to each name: so, ideally, the comment should be kept fairly short. A few words is normally enough, just enough that someone reading it will recognize the artist they're looking for. The comment field is ''not'' a place to store general background information about the artist: that kind of information should go in the [[Artist Annotation|ArtistAnnotation]].


The "non-binary" gender is not intended for use with entities for which the concept of gender is illogical, such as companies. For those, use "Not applicable".
==Country==


The "other" gender option is deprecated and should not be used.
[...hm...]


==Other fields==
==Aliases==


See the [[Style/Aliases|guidelines for aliases]].
The remaining fields are fairly straightforward:


# Type
#: With Type you can choose if this artist entry is for a single person or a band.
# Gender
#: If the artist is a person you can choose their gender.
# Begin date, End date
#: If you're entering a band, the begin and end date describe when the band was formed and disbanded.
#: If you're entering a person, the begin and end date refer to the date of their birth and death.


{{StyleBox}}
An artist can also have multiple aliases. An [[Artist Alias|ArtistAlias]] is used as a search hint to catch alternative or incorrect spelling of an ArtistName. These are usually entered later, you will not be asked to enter any artist aliases when adding a new artist to the database.

Revision as of 11:34, 4 August 2022

Status: This is an official style guideline.

Name

The artist name is the official name of an artist, whether it is a person, band, or character. In most cases, it is the name as found on releases.

Note that you can change how an artist is credited on a release or track when you enter that release. There is usually no need to add a new artist to the database if the artist is already present in our database under a (slightly) different name.

Keep in mind MusicBrainz is an international site, and "official name" doesn't necessarily mean "most common English name". For example, the "official name" for the Japanese composer Tōru Takemitsu is "武満徹", not "Tōru Takemitsu" (which is the primary English alias instead).

Definite articles and titles

Only include definite articles (like "The", "El" or "Der") and honorary titles (like "Sir" or "MBE") if they're actually used by the artist as part of its name. If it's not clear, leave them out, and just add them to the artist credit when printed.

Performance names and legal names

Generally, use the name the artist mainly performs under as the artist name. Alternative names, including any legal names and name variations, should generally be entered as aliases, and can be used in artist credits and relationship credits when appropriate.

  • The Prodigy have an alias of (and some releases credited to) "Prodigy".
  • t.A.T.u. were originally known as "Тату" in Russia (they later used "t.A.T.u." everywhere).
  • Yazoo are known as "Yaz" in the USA after a lawsuit from another American artist called Yazoo.

In some cases, a person (or, more rarely, a group) can perform under multiple names that they actually consider different projects, and not just alternative names. In that case, you should add each artist separately. If they're a person, a separate legal name artist should be added, and linked to all performance names with the is person ("performs as") relationship. In this case, do not add legal name aliases to the performance names. For groups, just link each group to their members.

Trans artists

If a trans artist changes their performance name to match their gender, always use the current name, not a deadname, as the artist name (even if more releases exist under the deadname at the time of the edit).

Sort name

See the guideline for sort names.

Disambiguation comment

Disambiguation comments should be short but informative. See more at Disambiguation Comment.

Area

Main area

For people, use the country where they were born and raised. For groups, use the country where the band was formed. For characters, use the country where the character was created. If the artist is predominantly active in a different country, use that country instead.

If an artist is most commonly associated with an area smaller than a country, select that instead.

Begin and end area

Use as precise an area as you can (city or region are better than just country). Remember for people this means birth and death locations, rather than where they started their career.

Gender

Use the gender the artist identifies as. Use "non-binary" if the artist identifies as something other than "male" or "female". Also use "non-binary", as the widest option, for anything that would seem to require more than one gender, since that is not currently possible (e.g. "non-binary trans woman").

For characters, the fictional gender of the character should be used. This might not match the gender of a person who performed the character.

The "non-binary" gender is not intended for use with entities for which the concept of gender is illogical, such as companies. For those, use "Not applicable".

The "other" gender option is deprecated and should not be used.

Aliases

See the guidelines for aliases.


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