Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Having a Wikipedia page can significantly benefit artists and bands. The website serves as a platform to showcase your talents, provide accurate information to fans, and establish powerful online credibility in the industry.
Table of Contents:
• What’s the criteria for Wikipedia pages?
• Does your band need a Wikipedia page?
• How to create a Wikipedia page for yourself or your band
• What to include in your page
• How to deal with vandalism and criticism
• Build your discography
Let’s walk you through the process of creating a Wikipedia page for yourself or your band and help you take control of your online presence.
What’s the criteria for Wikipedia pages?
Wikipedia has specific guidelines to ensure the quality and reliability of its content. To be eligible for a Wikipedia page, you or your band should meet the following criteria.
Notability
Wikipedia requires individuals or bands to have significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject. This includes mainstream media, magazines, reputable websites, or published books.
Note: Although “notability” is a somewhat vague term, Wikipedia spells out exactly what they mean by this for musicians.
Reliable sources
Your Wikipedia page should cite reliable sources to support the information provided. These sources should be well-established and recognized in the industry. Pages that cannot back up their claims with reliable sources are quickly removed by Wikipedia’s editorial staff.
Does your band need a Wikipedia page?
Having a Wikipedia page for your band is not a necessity but it can be highly beneficial. It allows you to control the narrative and information that fans find when they search for your name. A well-curated Wikipedia page allows you to highlight notable achievements, act as concert promotion, share your story, and enhance your artist brand and online visibility.
How to create a Wikipedia page for yourself or your band
Creating a Wikipedia page involves several steps, and it’s important to follow the guidelines to ensure a successful and credible page. Here’s a guide to help you through the process.
- Research existing articles. Before creating a new Wikipedia page, search if there’s already an existing Wikipedia article about you or your band. If there is, you can update and expand it instead of starting from scratch.
- Account creation. Create a Wikipedia account to begin editing and creating pages. Having a Wikipedia account helps you track changes, communicate with other Wikipedia editors, and protect your page from vandalism.
- Understand Wikipedia policies. Familiarize yourself with Wikipedia’s policies and guidelines, such as neutral point of view (you can’t use phrases like, “The greatest band ever!”), reliable sourcing, and notability. Adhering to these policies is crucial for your page’s acceptance and long-term survival.
- Gather reliable sources. Collect reliable sources that establish your notability as an artist or band. These sources should be independent and verifiable. Press releases, magazine features, interviews, and published articles are examples of credible sources.
- Write the article. Follow the Wikipedia format and structure to create your user page. Provide an introduction, a detailed artist bio, information about your musical style, notable achievements, and any other relevant information. Remember to cite your sources and use proper formatting.
- Submit the page for review. Once you’ve created the user page, submit it for review. Wikipedia has a team of volunteer editors who review and ensure the page meets their Wikipedia guidelines. Be patient during this process as it may take some time for your page to be approved.
What to include in your page
To create a comprehensive Wikipedia page, consider including the following elements:
- Introduction. Begin with a concise introduction that provides an overview of you or your band.
- Artist bio. Provide a detailed artist bio that covers important milestones, influences, and career highlights. Be sure to maintain a neutral tone.
- Discography and achievements. Include a section that lists your discography, awards, chart performances, and notable achievements.
- Musical style and influences. Describe your musical style and the influences that have shaped your sound.
- Tours and performances. Highlight significant tours, performances, and collaborations that demonstrate your career’s breadth and impact.
- References and citations. Add citations to reliable sources to support the information you provide. These citations add powerful online credibility to your Wikipedia artist page.
How to deal with vandalism and criticism
As a public platform, Wikipedia is susceptible to vandalism and criticism. If you encounter vandalism or inaccurate information on your Wiki page, you can take the following steps.
- Monitor changes. Regularly check your Wiki page for any unauthorized changes or inaccurate information. Wikipedia allows users to view the page history and compare revisions.
- Request corrections. If you find vandalism or incorrect information, you can request corrections by reaching out to Wikipedia editors or using the “Edit” function to make the necessary changes yourself.
- Engage with editors. Communicate with other Wikipedia editors to address concerns and maintain the accuracy of your page. Collaboration and open communication can help prevent potential issues.
Creating a Wikipedia page as an artist or band can significantly contribute to your online presence, reputation, and can help sell music online. By following the Wikipedia guidelines, understanding the criteria, and providing reliable sources, you can create a comprehensive page that showcases your music career and accomplishments.
Build your discography
When you’re ready to add to your esteemed discography of CD releases, Disc Makers is your one-stop shop for CDs in a variety of packaging options — and vinyl records too!
Scott McCormick is the author the Audible bestselling Rivals! series and the hit fantasy novel The Dragon Squisher. Scott can be reached at storybookediting@gmail.com.
Creating a Wikipedia page as an artist can be a valuable way to showcase your work and establish credibility. To get started, gather reliable sources and references about your career and accomplishments. Next, draft your page according to Wikipedia’s guidelines, ensuring neutrality and verifiability. For assistance in navigating the process and ensuring your page meets Wikipedia’s standards, consider hiring Wikipedia editors for hire.
This is great information! A thought I just had about this (because I’ve tried doing my own WIkipedia page before) is maybe it makes sense to assign a trusted friend to put this together. The reason I say that is because if you assign a friend the job of putting this all together and they can’t find enough references on their own to pass Wikipedia’s standards, then you probably aren’t notable enough or don’t otherwise have enough independent references to be on Wikipedia yet. If you have someone else do this, then at least there’s a little bit more objectivity and it’s a slightly more “independent” process, similar to what it would be if any other random person was putting together a Wikipedia article about you. Short of being actually notable to the point that some random person is going to look you up and build an article, this might be a closer-to-real-world way of doing it.
Wikipedia discourages the ‘subject’ of the article to be the author – or at leadt they used to. I edit there and have seen/read this policy cited often on pages that appear to be created by a band member, manager or close friend. As noted in this article reliable 3rd party sources are a must. The biggest thing is the source should have regular editorial oversight – meaning quoting facts from your own website is unacceptable.
This is very beneficial information. We tried to create a Wikipedia page, but ran aground at that “notable” section…. That was about a year ago. We MAY have what is required now, so thanks for reminding us that we need to pursue this more closely. Also, we will be sure to share this in our Facebook community.
I enjoyed the article! I work professionally as a recording/ mixing engineer and have been trying to figure out how to build a Wikipedia page for myself. Can you recommend a consultant? Or point me in the right direction for finding one?
One option is to hire a consultant to help out with the process. Often there are a lot of unwritten rules that are misinterpreted by newbies to Wikipedia. For example, towing the line and finding the right balance between proving notability while also not coming across as promotional.
“hay muchas reglas no escritas que son
malinterpretadas por los novatos en Wikipedia.”
Estimado Rob, Soy un trovautor cuyo catálogo cancionero goza de cierta presencia en algunos ámbitos sociales y culturales de América y Europa. En cambio, soy un novato en Wikipedia. Y tengo un par de preguntas: ¿Cómo puede malinterpretarse algo que no está a la vista, por escrito? ¿Tienes en mente algún consultor para sugerir?
Paz y Bien.