Template:Infobox musical artist

{{Infobox musical artist}} is the standard infobox for non-classical musician articles, and is within the purview of WikiProject Musicians.

See also Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians/Infobox for more information.

Usage

One of the following two alternatives (one for individuals, one for groups) should be placed in an article at the top of the page, before the introduction.

For articles about individuals

{{Infobox musical artist
| name                = 
| image               = 
| alt                 = 
| caption             = 
| image_size          = 
| landscape           = <!-- yes, if wide image, otherwise leave blank -->
| background          = **Mandatory** Use one: solo_singer, non_vocal_instrumentalist, non_performing_personnel, or temporary
| birth_name          = 
| alias               = 
| birth_date          = <!-- {{birth date and age|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
| birth_place         = 
| origin              = 
| death_date          = <!-- {{death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (death date 1st) -->
| death_place         = 
| genre               = 
| occupation          = 
| instrument          = 
| years_active        = <!-- YYYY–YYYY (or –present) -->
| label               = 
| associated_acts     = 
| website             = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} -->
| notable_instruments = 
}}

For articles about musical groups

{{Infobox musical artist
| name            = 
| image           = 
| alt             = 
| caption         = 
| image_size      = 
| landscape       = <!-- yes, if wide image, otherwise leave blank -->
| background      = **Mandatory** Use one: group_or_band, classical_ensemble, or temporary
| alias           = 
| origin          = 
| genre           = 
| years_active    = <!-- {{start date|YYYY}}–{{end date|YYYY}} (or –present) -->
| label           = 
| associated_acts = 
| website         = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} -->
| current_members = 
| past_members    = 
}}

Parameters

• Most fields are optional and the row will simply be omitted if no data is supplied.
• See WikiProject Musicians for more information about this template.

name

The name of the group or artist ("the act") in plain text only. Logos and other graphics are to be avoided in this field in accordance with WP:ACCESS, WP:FAIR, and in particular WP:LOGO. This field is mandatory.

image

An image of the act, sufficiently clear for display at 220 pixels' width. Set to only the image name, e.g. Example.png, not Image:Example.png or [[File:Example.png|200px|abc]].

alt

Alt text for the image, for visually impaired and other readers who cannot see the image. See WP:ALT.

caption

Caption for the image to be displayed.

image_size

The image size should only be specified if the image is smaller than 220 pixels width. Enter the width in pixels without "px", for example 150. Size for landscape images should be 250.

landscape

Set to yes when using wide, short images. The image height (rather than width) will be limited to 200 pixels.

background

The musical artist should be placed into one of seven categories by using one of the codes below in the background field. Each category is color-coded to provide a quick indication of the type of group/performer, e.g. solo artist, orchestra, etc. The color scheme is similar to the one used by WikiProject Albums and other projects. Please discuss additional types that need to be accounted for on the template's talk page. This field is mandatory.

Code	Display
solo_singer	Background information
non_vocal_instrumentalist	Background information
non_performing_personnel	Background information
group_or_band	Background information
classical_ensemble	Background information
temporary	Background information

solo_singer

Singular vocal performers (including lead and background singers, singer-songwriters, and singer-instrumentalists). This categorization is for any article about a singer, whether they perform solo, with a group or band, or both.

non_vocal_instrumentalist

Non-vocal instrumentalists.

non_performing_personnel

Non-classical composers, producers, songwriters, arrangers, DJs, engineers, and other non-performing personnel.

group_or_band

Groups, bands, crews, or other non-classical music ensembles. This categorization is for articles on group acts only; members of groups should be labeled with one of the codes above.

classical_ensemble

Orchestras and other classical music ensembles.

temporary

Temporary collaborative projects.

Other values (e.g. "jazz trumpeter") must not be used.

Pages with invalid value in |background= can be found in Category:Infobox musical artist with missing or invalid Background field.

birth_name

This field is only relevant for individuals. The artist's name at birth.

alias

For listing official stage names for the act or solo artist other than the name in the |name= parameter. Also for the solo artist's legal name(s), or other officially authorized names that differ from their birth name. This field is not for nicknames such as "The Godfather of Soul" (James Brown) or "Nippy" (Whitney Houston), which are not the artists' official names.

birth_date

This field is only relevant for individuals. The artist's date of birth; it is preferable to use {{Birth date and age}} (for example {{Birth date and age|1949|12|31}}) to display current age. For dead people, use {{Birth date}} (for example {{Birth date|1949|12|31}}. Also list the place of birth using the birth_place parameter, if it differs from the artist's hometown (see field "origin" below). Omit the country if it does not differ from that specified at the field "origin".

{{Birth date and age|Year|Month|Day}}

birth_place

This field is only relevant for individuals. The artist's place of birth. Do not add a flag icon.

[[City]], State/Province, Country

origin

The city from which the singer or group originated (that is, the city where the group was founded; or the city where individual performers started their career, should it not match the location of their birth). If the city is not known, specify at least the country. Do not add a flag icon.

[[City]], [[State/Province]], [[Country]]

death_date

This field is only relevant for individuals. The artist's date of death (same format as birth_date; but use {{Death date and age}}).

death_place

This field is only relevant for individuals. The artist's place of death (same format as birth_place). Do not add a flag icon.

genre

The genre or genres of music performed by the act. Aim for generality (e.g. [[Hip hop music|Hip hop]] rather than [[East Coast hip hop]]). Genres should be separated with a comma delimiter. Genres should be wikilinked. Use piped links where needed, for example: [[Pop music|Pop]], [[Rock music|rock]]. Note: most genres are not proper nouns and should not be capitalized. However, the first word in a list of multiple genres should be capitalized.

occupation

This field is only relevant for individuals. Roles the artist has fulfilled (e.g. musician, songwriter, producer, etc). For artists that have participated in other forms of entertainment, outside of music (such as acting), these occupations can be included if notable.

instrument

This field is only relevant for individuals. General class(es) of instrument(s) played by the artist, e.g. guitar or violin. Include singing, rapping, beatboxing and/or scat singing if relevant. Separate multiple entries with commas.

years_active

Period(s) during which the act was or has been active. Only calendar year ranges or a single calendar year should be listed; for example, do not distinguish between the period Paul McCartney was in The Beatles and his solo career. Use commas to separate non-consecutive periods, and denote ranges with an unspaced en dash (e.g. 1993–2004, 2005–present). See WP:DATE#Longer periods and WP:MOS#En dashes. For groups only use {{Start date}}.

label

The record label or labels to which the act has been signed, as a comma-separated list. Omit parenthetical dates; save that information for the main article. Drop the word "Records" from the end of any label's name (e.g. use [[Universal Records|Universal]] rather than [[Universal Records]].) Separate multiple entries with commas.

associated_acts

This field is for professional relationships with other musicians or bands that are significant and notable to this artist's career.

This field can include, for example, any of the following:

• For individuals: groups of which he or she has been a member
• Other acts with which this act has collaborated on multiple occasions, or on an album, or toured with as a single collaboration act playing together
• Groups which have spun off from this group
• A group from which this group has spun off

Separate multiple entries with commas.

The following uses of this field should be avoided:

• Association of groups with members' solo careers
• Groups with only one member in common
• Association of producers, managers, etc. (who are themselves acts) with other acts (unless the act essentially belongs to the producer, as in the case of a studio orchestra formed by and working exclusively with a producer)
• One-time collaboration for a single, or on a single song
• Groups that are merely similar

website

The single web address for the act's primary official website. Use {{URL}} as {{URL|example.com}}.

current_members

This field is only relevant for active groups. Current members of the group, listed in order of joining with no other notation than names. Separate multiple entries with <br />.

past_members

This field is only relevant for groups. Past members of the group, listed in order of joining with no other notation than names. If a group is inactive, all members should be listed here, and none in the "current_members" field. If membership of the group has varied over time, it should not be noted here, but may be discussed in the article body. Separate multiple entries with <br />.

notable_instruments

This field is only relevant for individuals. Particularly noteworthy models or custom musical instruments with which the artist is strongly associated (e.g. Jimi Hendrix's Fender Stratocaster and Gibson Flying V guitars or Tori Amos's Bösendorfer piano). Separate multiple entries with commas.

Examples

Mariah Carey Young woman singing into a hand mike with her eyes closed and a big smile Mariah Carey performing in 1998 Background information Birth name Mariah Carey Born March 27, 1970 (1970-03-27) Huntington, New York Origin New York City Genres Pop, R&B, dance-pop Occupations Singer, songwriter, record producer, music video director, actress Years active 1990–present Labels Columbia, Virgin, MonarC/Island Website mariahcarey.com

Audioslave Four-man rock group performing on stage, spotlit, with row of darkened fans in the foreground From left to right: Tim Commerford, Chris Cornell, Brad Wilk and Tom Morello, performing at the Montreux Jazz Festival, 2005. Background information Origin Los Angeles, California, United States Genres Hard rock, alternative rock, post-grunge Years active 2001 (2001)–2007 Labels Epic, Interscope Associated acts Soundgarden, Rage Against the Machine, Temple of the Dog, The Nightwatchman Website www.audioslave.com Past members Chris Cornell Tom Morello Tim Commerford Brad Wilk

For individual musicians

The following template code produced the infobox above.

{{Infobox musical artist
| name            = Mariah Carey
| image           = Mariah Carey13 Edwards  Dec 1998.jpg
| alt             = Young woman singing into a hand mike with her eyes closed and a big smile
| caption         = Mariah Carey performing in 1998
| background      = solo_singer
| birth_name      = Mariah Carey
| birth_date      = {{Birth date and age|1970|3|27}}
| birth_place     = [[Huntington, New York]]
| origin          = [[New York City]]
| genre           = [[pop music|Pop]], [[contemporary R&B|R&B]], [[dance-pop]]
| associated_acts = 
| occupation      = Singer, songwriter, record producer, music video director, actress
| years_active    = 1990–present
| label           = [[Columbia Records|Columbia]], [[Virgin Records|Virgin]], [[MonarC]]/[[Island Records|Island]]
| website         = {{URL|mariahcarey.com}}
}}

For groups or bands

The following template code produced the infobox above.

{{Infobox musical artist
| name            = Audioslave
| image           = Audioslave_2005.jpg
| alt             = Four-man rock group performing on stage, spotlit, with row of darkened fans in the foreground
| landscape       = yes
| caption         = From left to right: [[Tim Commerford]], [[Chris Cornell]], [[Brad Wilk]] and [[Tom Morello]], performing at the [[Montreux Jazz Festival]], 2005.
| background      = group_or_band
| origin          = [[Los Angeles]], California, United States
| genre           = [[Hard rock]], [[alternative rock]], [[post-grunge]]
| years_active    = {{Start date|2001}}–2007
| label           = [[Epic Records|Epic]], [[Interscope Records|Interscope]]
| associated_acts = [[Rage Against the Machine]]
| website         = {{URL|www.audioslave.com}}
| current_members = 
| past_members    = [[Chris Cornell]]<br />[[Tom Morello]]<br />[[Tim Commerford]]<br />[[Brad Wilk]]
}}

Examples of the template in use can be found at:

• Elvis Presley
• Madonna
• Sly & the Family Stone

Microformat

The HTML markup produced by this template includes an hCard microformat, which makes the person's details parsable by computers, either acting automatically to catalogue articles across Wikipedia or via a browser tool operated by a reader, to (for example) add the subject to an address book or database. For more information about the use of microformats on Wikipedia, please see the microformat project.

Sub-templates

Date-of-birth ("bday") information will only be included in the microformat if {{Birth date}}, {{Birth date and age}}, or {{Birth-date}} are used in the infobox. (but do not use these if the date is before 1583).

To include a URL, use {{URL}}.

Please do not remove instances of these sub-templates.

Classes

hCard uses HTML classes including:

• adr
• agent
• bday
• birthplace
• category
• country-name
• deathdate
• deathplace
• extended-address
• family-name
• fn (required)
• given-name
• honorific-prefix
• honorific-suffix
• label
• locality
• n
• nickname
• note
• org
• role
• url
• vcard

Please do not rename or remove these classes; nor collapse nested elements which use them.

The determination between class="fn" (for individuals) and class="fn org" (for groups) and is made by {{Infobox musical artist/hCard class}}.