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Wikipedia:WikiProject Music standards

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Just a few random standards that have come up:

You can link to normal studio albums as much as you want.
Caveat 1: Unless there's extenuating circumstances, greatest hits and compilation albums don't need an article.
Do not link to songs unless:
1. You are willing to write an article on it
2. You are definitely sure that it needs an article
3. An article already exists
Albums are italicized and songs are in quotes (i.e. The Beatles' song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" comes from their 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band). Operas, symphonies and other pieces of classical music are also italicized.
Don't use piped links to the "year in music" articles (i.e. do not write "the Beatles released Please Please Me in 1963"). Instead, link to the normal year article (1963) and, sparingly use parentheses after years mentioned in the article, such as "the Beatles released Please Please Me in 1963 (see 1963 in music)". In discography charts or other specialized forms, it is acceptable to use non-piped links to the year in music articles.
Do not link to self-titled albums like this: "The New York Dolls released their debut[?] in 1978". Instead, use some variation of "The New York Dolls released their eponymic debut, New York Dolls[?], in 1978".
If you want to mention whom a band or album sounds similar to, do so in a prose format (as in Operation Ivy has a ska punk sound similar to The Specials), not in a list.
In an article, try and give a year for albums and whatnot in parentheses after the mention, unless the year is used in the sentence -- for example, either "Eminem released The Marshall Mathers LP (1999) to critical acclaim and popular controversy." or "Eminem's 1999 LP, The Marshall Mathers LP, received critical acclaim and popular controversy.
Don't be too gushy about your favorite band. "Enormously popular", "critically acclaimed" and the like are generally okay, but don't be angry if someone demands a source; "the best band of the 70s", "the only punk band to never sell out" and such are not acceptable and will be changed -- if a famous critic has said so and it does not interrupt the flow, quote and document.
In titles of songs or albums, unless it is unique, the standard rule in the English language is to capitalize words that:
1. Are the first word in the title
2. Are not conjunctions (and, but, or, nor), prepositions (to, over, through) or articles (an, a, the)
Unless you know otherwise, the word "and" in band names is always an ampersand (&), as in Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Jan & Dean, Richard Hell & the Voidoids
1. Many bands have multiple ways of spelling their name (Guns 'n' Roses, Guns 'n Roses, Guns and Roses, Guns 'N Roses) -- these should all redirect. Please make the redirects when you make the article, as otherwise there will be many competing articles on the same band.
If possible, check with an authoritative source to find if the word the is part of a band's name. For example, The Beatles is correct, as is the Pixies. In either case, the opposite should always redirect to avoid having multiple articles.
1. If the, a or an is the first word in a band's name, it should always be capitalized, as in "It is my opinion that The Eels[?] rock, as do the Pixies."
2. The following bands appear to not take the article as part of their proper name: 13th Floor Elevators, Allman Brothers Band, Archers of Loaf[?], Backstreet Boys, Barenaked Ladies, Black Eyed Peas, Bloodhound Gang, Brand New Heavies, Cocteau Twins, Counting Crows, Digable Planets, Dilated Peoples, Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, Dixie Chicks, Dream Warriors, Eurythmics, Faces, Fairport Convention, Flying Burrito Brothers, Foo Fighters, Geto Boys, Grateful Dead, Incredible String Band[?], Jungle Brothers, Jurassic 5, Last Poets, Leaders of the New School, Lords of Acid, Mighty, Mighty Bosstones, Minutemen[?], Mothers of Invention, Moving Sidewalks, Neville Brothers, Nine Inch Nails, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Pet Shop Boys, Pixies, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Spacemen 3, Spin Doctors, Talking Heads, Violent Femmes, X-Clan

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