Template:Infobox song/doc: Difference between revisions

An infobox provides [[WP:INFOBOXPURPOSE|key facts]] as discussed in the article—it should not be too detailed or take up too much of the article space. It should only contain items, such as genres or songwriters, that are discussed in the article (or have [[WP:CITE|citation]]s to [[WP:RS|reliable source]]s).

Add an image of a sheet music cover, picture sleeve, or other image appropriate for the song.  First, one must be uploaded (see [[Wikipedia:Uploading images]] for details). Then, enter the file name (without File:) into the field, such as <code>[Image Name].jpg</code>.

Use this field to provide alternative text or a description of the cover image for visually impaired readers. See [[WP:ALT]].

If there is an image, a suitable caption may be added that follows [[MOS:CAPTION]] (begins with a capital letter, no period at end if it is a sentence fragment, etc.) Please note that if the image is ''unambiguously'' a picture sleeve or record label for the release that is described in the infobox, then it is "self-captioning", and no caption needs to be entered in this parameter.

Specify "single", "instrumental", "composition", "promo", etc., as shown in the code table below.  The entry will be automatically linked to the corresponding article, so only the unlinked code is needed (the default is "song"). If an album track was later released as a single, '''use the most notable or best known'''. For example, "[[Stairway to Heaven]]" was released as a promo single in several markets and as a digital single in 2007, but became best known as a song from Led Zeppelin's fourth album. This field is used to generate the header and color; please note that it is not used for genre, which is described in the {{para|genre}} fields.

If the article associates the original or primary rendition of the song with one artist, enter the name of the artist and link if they have a WP article. For band names that begin with "The", enter the lower case "the" ({{para|artist|the Beatles}}, rather than {{para|artist|The Beatles}}), consistent with [[:MOS:THEMUSIC]]. For traditional or historical songs, when the focus is not on a particular rendition, this should be left blank (alternatively, consider using [[Template:Infobox musical composition]]).

If the song was first released on an album, enter the name of the album and link. The template will italicize the album name and produce "from the album <var>Name</var>" in the header.  If the song was originally released as a single '''well in advance''' of the album, {{para|album}} should not be used, since it is not ''from the album'', but later added to one.  For example, "[[Beck's Bolero]]" and "[[Back on the Chain Gang]]" were released as singles about 16 months before they were added to albums and became well-known before the albums.

If the song was first released on an EP or [[Extended play]], add the EP name in this field.  The name will be italicized, etc., and should be used as described in the album subsection above.  Please note: only album ''or'' EP should be used and depends on which one was issued first.

If the article is about a song that was released as a [[A-side and B-side|B-side]] of a single, enter the name of the [[A-side and B-side|A-side]] and link as appropriate (do not use B-side). Quote marks will be added automatically.{{r|quotes}}  For multiple entries, see Notes{{r|plainlist}} for details. For [[double A-side]]d singles, refer to the [[#Chronology for double-A-side singles|Chronology for double-A-side singles]] section below.

The year the song was [[Music publisher (popular music)|published]] also may be included, if discussed in the article.  This usually refers to [[Music publisher (sheet music)|sheet music published]] before the rise of music recording.

If the song was recorded in a '''recording studio''', enter the name and location. Link the studio, but not well-known cities, states, or countries (see [[WP:OVERLINK]]). Remove "Studios" if it appears in the name – use <nowiki>[[Sound City Studios|Sound City]]</nowiki> rather than <nowiki>[[Sound City Studios]]</nowiki>.  For multiple entries, see Notes{{r|flatlist}} for details. For "United States" and "United Kingdom", it is preferred that they be abbreviated "U.S." and "UK", but political subdivisions should never be (never "MA" for "Massachusetts", "ON" for "Ontario", etc.). See Notes{{r|location}} for details.

The field should include the music genre(s) that best describes the song. It should come from a [[WP:RS|reliable source]] and also '''be stated and referenced''' in the body of the article; personal opinions or [[WP:original research|original research]] must be not be included. Note that most genres are not proper nouns and should not be capitalized.  However, the first word in a list of multiple genres should be capitalized.  For multiple entries, see Notes{{r|flatlist}} for details.

The name of the '''record company''' that issued the release may be included here.  Generally, add later releases, those from different countries, reissues, etc., in the body of article instead of the infobox. Remove "Records" if it appears in the name – use <nowiki>[[Universal Records|Universal]]</nowiki> instead of <nowiki>[[Universal Records]]</nowiki>.  For multiple entries, see Notes{{r|flatlist}} for details.

Use this field if the '''music''' ''and'' '''lyrics''' were written by one person or, in the case of multiple writers, where a separate lyricist and composer have not been clearly identified by a [[WP:RS|reliable source]].  Do not use this field if the {{para|composer}} and {{para|lyricist}} fields are used.  For multiple entries, see Notes{{r|flatlist}} for details.

Enter the name of the person(s) credited as the actual [[record producer]](s). Do not include those listed as executive, co-, additional, vocal, etc., producers, unless a reliable source identifies their contribution as substantially the same as the main producers. These should be included in the article body or track listings rather than be listed here. For multiple entries, see Notes{{r|flatlist}} for details.

If {{para|chronology}} is blank, the first (English) letter of the artist name given in {{para|artist}} is automatically capitalized in the chronology header, so that band names starting with "The" appear as recommended in the [[MOS:THEMUSIC|Manual of Style]]. If the first letter of the artist's name is stylized in lower case, or if the first letter in the artist's name is not part of the English alphabet, enter the artist's name in {{para|chronology}} as you wish it to appear. For example:

* {{para|artist|[[:letlive.]]}} should use {{para|chronology|[[:letlive.]]}} for it to also appear there in lower case.  

* {{para|artist|[[Édith Piaf]]}} should use {{para|chronology|[[Édith Piaf]]}} to prevent the letter "d" (the first English letter) from appearing in upper case.

Enter the name of the artist's previous single.  Quote marks will be added automatically;{{r|quotes}} link it if there is a WP article.  Leave this blank if the artist has no previous single. For [[double A-side]]d singles, refer to the [[#Chronology for double-A-side singles|Chronology for double-A-side singles]] section below.

Several track listing options are available. See the [[#Track listing examples|Track listing examples]] section below for explanations and codes.

Not all infoboxes should include album track listings. Articles about traditional or historical songs might not focus on a particular recording, so details about a later rendition, including album releases, are inappropriate for an infobox. Additionally, there may already be an album track listing with links to other songs in a [[WP:NAV|navigation template]] or [[WP:NAVBOX|navbox]] at the end of the article. These include an album navbox (for example, {{tl|Thriller (album)}}), an artist song navbox ({{tl|Rihanna songs}}), or an artist navbox that includes songs ({{tl|Robert Johnson}}).

| studio  = [[Record Plant]], New York City

| genre    = [[Contemporary R&B]]

| label    = [[Columbia Records|Columbia]]

The example to the right uses {{tl|Rumours tracks}} to demonstrate. To see its use in actual song infobox, click on the song links. Please note, if a singles chronology is also used in the infobox ({{para|prev_title}}, etc.), {{tl|Extra track listing}} must be used in the {{para|misc}} field (refer to that [[Template:Extra track listing#Usage]] for the code and explanation).

| studio  = [[Record Plant]], New York City

| genre    = [[Contemporary R&B]]

| label    = [[Columbia Records|Columbia]]

# "[[21st Century Schizoid Man]]"

# "[[I Talk to the Wind]]"

# "[[Epitaph (King Crimson song)|Epitaph]]"

# "[[Moonchild (King Crimson song)|Moonchild]]"

# "[[The Court of the Crimson King]]"

The example to the right uses this approach. To see its use in actual infoboxes, click on the song titles. Also, please note that if a singles chronology is also used in the infobox ({{para|prev_title}}, etc.), {{tl|Extra track listing}} must be used in the {{para|misc}} field (refer to that [[Template:Extra track listing#Usage]] for the code and explanation).

:For multi-disc [[Compact Disc Digital Audio|CD]]s, subheadings for "Disc one", "Disc two", etc. may be included.  Similarly, subheadings such as "Side one" or "Side A" may be added for [[LP record]]s and [[Extended play|EPs]]. To ensure that the track numbering continues sequentially after a subheading (rather than starting again at "1"), use <code><nowiki><li value="x"></nowiki></code> where "x"=the next track number.

| A-side      = "Other Side" ([[double A-side]])

| studio      = [[Record Plant]], New York City

| genre      = [[Contemporary R&B]]

| label      = [[Columbia Records|Columbia]]

<ref name="flatlist">For short horizontal lists of two or three items, comma separators are acceptable, but for longer lists the use of the <code>class=hlist</code> is preferred as it offers a benefit to users of screen readers (see [[Wikipedia:Accessibility]] for more information on [[Web Content Accessibility Guidelines]]). To use it, format the items as a normal bulleted list; don't use other list templates or <nowiki><br/></nowiki>. For example:<pre>

<ref name="location">As per RfC "Naming countries in infoboxes": When identifying a location, city or region in the United States or United Kingdom, the preferred approach is to use the country abbreviations allowed by [[MOS:ACRO]], such as "Portsmouth, New Hampshire, U.S." and "Cardiff, Wales, UK", rather than spelling out the full country name. Avoid using abbreviations for states or provinces in all nations. {{xt|New Hampshire}} rather than {{!xt|NH}}, {{xt|New South Wales}} rather than {{!xt|NSW}}, or {{xt|British Columbia}} rather than {{!xt|BC}} (see [[MOS:POSTABBR]]). Cities such as New York City and London may be rendered as "New York City, U.S." and "London, UK" or simply "New York City" and "London". Also, these should not be linked when the context makes it clear (see [[MOS:OVERLINK]]). If only the country name is included, it may be written out in full.

[[Category:Music infobox templates|Song]]

[[Category:WikiProject Songs templates]]

[[Category:Templates that add a tracking category]]

* [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Songs]]