Are you an artist and how often do you use Wikipedia? If the answer is not at all or only a little, then this article will help you understand why you need to engage with it more. We will weigh in on the pros and cons of Wikipedia for musicians, how to set up your own page, and what are the notability criteria to ensure you are verified to create a page. There are plenty of artists who use this encyclopaedic platform to good use, so why not join them? Keep reading for all the best tips!
Why As An Artist, Wikipedia Is Important
The purpose of the page for artists is that the information is accurate so people can find out everything about you and your music. In short, the accuracy of the page is vital as usually, these pages will be at the top of Google rankings for people to search for your band, or you as a solo artist.
The better you are at creating an interesting Wikipedia page as an artist, it is a useful promotional tool for your music. You can even see how many views per month your page receives, so you really do need to spend some time on it and keep it up-to-date as much as possible.
Creating a Wikipedia page for a musician will start with a little blurb about the artist, a biography if you will. The better known the artist, and the longer they have been around, the longer the Wikipedia page will be. For example, Adele or Coldplay’s page will include much more content than someone who may be an emerging artist.
However, both share the same amount of meaning to a fan searching for info on their favourite artist at that moment. An example of an artist whose Wikipedia has now probably gotten more traction in the last few years is someone called Emily Bear, part of the duo Barlow & Bear. Emily Bear and Abigail Barlow created the sensation that is The Unofficial Bridgerton Album after the Netflix show and has won a Grammy due to their talent.
I’m sure there are plenty of fans researching the personal lives of Emily now on Wikipedia, who has been performing since she was 5 years old. Her first performance was at the Ravinia Festival at 5 years old as a pianist. I got that info from her Wikipedia page, so there you have it, you learn something new every day thanks to the encyclopedic platform.
The wiki page will most likely include the following on the right side of the page:
- Origin
- D.O.B.
- Genres of Music
- Years Active
- Labels
- Members of band / solo artist
- Band website
- Awards
In the main part of the wiki page, it will follow a similar pattern, but it can change depending on the artist of course:
- Early Life
- Musical Style
- Discography
- Public image and personal life
- Tours
- Extra occupations (if you are an actor, or songwriter as well as an artist, it would be preferable to add it here)
If you want to know how to successfully create a Wikipedia for artists, then you need to follow these steps.
Fans want to know the discography of an artist, when they toured back in 2018, or where they were born and went to school to feel close to the artist.
Wikipedia’s Notability Criteria
There are certain guidelines that need to be followed if you want to know how to get a Wikipedia page. These are relevant to musicians or ensembles, which include; bands, singers, rappers, orchestras, DJs, musical theatre groups, and instrumentalists.
Wikipedia can be quite formidable when it comes to who they allow creating pages on their platform. For example, someone who did not fit the criteria a few years ago will now be eligible as music tastes have changed. In the instance of Frisco, a rapper who specialized in grime had his page deleted and blocked due to the fact that back in 2008, it wasn’t as popular as it is now.
He has now released more albums and people love this genre of music, so his page is more established and is racking up more views per month.
Wikipedia asks that artists meet at least one of the following official criteria:
- Has been the subject of multiple, non-trivial, published works appearing in sources that are reliable, not self-published, and independent of the musician or ensemble itself.
- Has had a single or album on any country’s national music chart.
- Has had a record certified gold or higher in at least one country.
- Has received non-trivial coverage in independent reliable sources of an international concert tour, or a national concert tour in at least one sovereign country.
- Has released two or more albums on a major record label or on one of the more important indie labels (i.e., an independent label with a history of more than a few years, and with a roster of performers, many of whom are independently notable).
- Is an ensemble that contains two or more independently notable musicians, or is a musician who has been a reasonably prominent member of two or more independently notable ensembles.
- Has become one of the most prominent representatives of a notable style or the most prominent of the local scene of a city.
- Has won or been nominated for a major music award, such as a Grammy, Juno, Mercury, Choice or Grammys award.
- Has won first, second or third place in a major music competition.
- Has performed music for a work of media that is notable, e.g., a theme for a network television show, performance in a television show or notable film, or inclusion on a notable compilation album.
- Has been placed in rotation nationally by a major radio or music television network.
- Has been a featured subject of a substantial broadcast segment across a national radio or TV network.
These guidelines were created by Wikimedia Foundation which owns wikipedia.org, and bring ‘free educational content to the world’.
How To Make A Wikipedia Page For An Artist
So, how do you actually put yourself on Wikipedia? First things first, you need to gain verification for your page.
- To get a Wikipedia artist page, you can create an account, which will be at the top right-hand corner of the Wikipedia page. You will then enter all your basic info and choose a relevant name as a Wikipedia artist. You can be notified whenever anybody views your page as well if you choose to do this. We would recommend this to stay updated.
- The title of the Wikipedia page needs not to already exist and needs to be unique. So what you need to do is ensure you click on the red-coloured link which means it is unused. Once you have done this, you will be taken to a blank page, whereby you write any text you feel is necessary for your music and this can include images as well of course.
- The final job is to click on the Publish Changes button and there you have it, you have created a Wikipedia page!
Pros and Cons of Wikipedia
Pros
Easy Use – In terms of creating a Wikipedia page for a person, in terms of an artist, Wikipedia is so easy to use, it is nicely organized and can be updated efficiently, at any time. Therefore, it has a proven success rate amongst musicians. As I have mentioned before, people want information fast nowadays and it has the infrastructure to provide this to any fan of the artist they are researching.
Wide access – it is widely accessible to everybody around the globe, and for any artist who may have their own website, this can be easily shared as a link on Wikipedia.
Another pro of creating a wiki page as an artist is that it is completely free.
Cons
However, it would be remiss of us not to mention the weaknesses of the platform as well as the pros.
Vandalisation – even if you have created a Wikipedia page for yourself, anybody can edit this if they are a guest editor or those with registered accounts, and may create false content on your behalf as a hoax. There have been examples in the past of people saying that an artist has died when it is clearly not to be the case. So I would advise that you create a fully-protected page which is edited only by accounts that meet certain age and activity thresholds or administrators respectively.
Audience – Your audience will vary and you don’t entirely know the readership demographic, but as an artist, it will be beneficial to make the content as general as possible, so you can reach as many fans as possible. Remember it is not an academic piece of work at the end of the day.
Closing Thoughts
So do you think you know how to get a Wikipedia page for your band, and how to create a page from scratch now, then what are you waiting for? We have given you all the basic info to be able to do this, so just wait for those page views to keep rising and carry on making music and doing what you love.
FAQs
How To Create A Wikipedia Page For An Artist? ›
To get a Wikipedia artist page, you can create an account, which will be at the top right-hand corner of the Wikipedia page. You will then enter all your basic info and choose a relevant name as a Wikipedia artist. You can be notified whenever anybody views your page as well if you choose to do this.
How do you make a celebrity Wikipedia page? ›- Open the Wikipedia home page.
- Select your language.
- Move your cursor on the top right section and click on the create account option.
- The registration form will be open.
- Fill it with the appropriate information.
What is the Wikipedia page creation cost? Cost for creation generally varies on the basis on notability. On average, the price is from $250 to $3000.
Is creating a Wikipedia page free? ›Wikipedia is free content that anyone can edit, use, modify, and distribute. This is a motto applied to all Wikimedia foundation project: use them for any purpose as you wish.
How do I get my band on Wikipedia? ›Be noteworthy
Kicking things off with arguably the most important tip: in order to secure a Wikipedia page, your music or band must be of 'noteworthy' status - i.e. you must have actual, physical evidence of your 'claim to fame', or in this case, your notoriety.
Wikipedia rules say that you should not create your own Wikipedia article. Doing so would be a conflict of interest. If you decide to write one anyway, and it gets taken down, it is very difficult to get a new article because your name will be flagged.
Can anyone Publish on Wikipedia? ›Wikipedia is the encyclopedia that anyone can edit, but there are special guidelines for editors who are paid or sponsored.
How many sources do you need for a Wikipedia page? ›Wikipedia's general notability guideline states that "no fixed number of sources [are] required .... but multiple sources are generally expected" in order to establish notability. The word multiple is purposely left vague in the guideline because "sources vary in quality and depth of coverage".
Can you hire someone to write a Wikipedia page? ›Hire Our Professional Writers For Wikipedia Page Creation Services At Wiki Creators LLC., we take great pride in helping people create their own Wikipedia pages.
What are the benefits of having a Wikipedia page? ›Wikipedia is a great place to start your research, giving you background information on your topic and possible keywords to help you conduct more in-depth research elsewhere. 4. Sources used in the articles are cited, allowing further investigation into any topic.
Do Wikipedia editors get paid? ›
Paid editing on Wikipedia is defined as writing or editing on Wikipedia in return for money, or similar inducements. This includes inserting or deleting content to the advantage of the editor's employer or client into or from an article, talk page, or policy. Many, but not all, types of paid editing are forbidden.
How do I make a simple Wikipedia page? ›- Use Basic English words and shorter sentences. This allows people to understand complex terms or phrases.
- Write good pages. The best encyclopedia pages have useful, well-written information.
- Use the pages to learn and teach. ...
- Simple does not mean short. ...
- Be bold!
An artist biography (or 'artists biog') is a paragraph or two about you and your career as a practitioner. It may also contain a line about the key themes to your practice. Zine Workshop on Co-operative Art Education.
How does something get a Wikipedia page? ›All Wikipedia pages are created by accessing a page title that does not yet exist, usually by clicking on a red-colored link (which denotes non-existence, as opposed to a blue link which, with some exceptions, indicates the linked page exists).
Where do all Wikipedia pages lead to? ›"All Wikipedia Ends In Philosophy, Literally". The Huffington Post. Wikipedia Pages That Don't Lead to Philosophy an in-progress (unfinished) database of Wikipedia page loops that result in a page not leading to philosophy. Six Degrees of Wikipedia, an interactive tool to find paths between articles.
How much does it cost to post on Wikipedia? ›Is It Free to Create a Wikipedia Page? Creating a Wikipedia page is free. You don't need to pay anything to sign up, write an article, or maintain an account. Yet, you might want to hire a Wikipedia writer to help you.
How do I create a Wikipedia page for my non profit? ›- Create a Wikipedia account.
- Search for your organization on Wikipedia.
- Click on the resulting red link that signifies there is no existing page.
- Start entering text on the blank page Wikipedia transports you to.
- Hit “Publish” when you're good and ready.
The length of Wikipedia article approval varies from three to six months. It may take longer due to dozens and thousands of articles getting approved. It shortlists the Wikipedia article content based on quality, originality, and notability and takes time to accept it.
Are all Wikipedia images copyright free? ›You can use (free) images from Wikipedia on your own site, or anywhere you like. You can use images that are freely-licensed images, provided you comply with the individual image's license terms. While all article text is licensed under the GFDL, free images have several free content licenses to choose from.
How much would it cost to print all of Wikipedia? ›The complete text printed out to between 7,473 volumes, totaling more than 5 million pages. Without a discount, the price of a set would be more than $600,000. (Oh, there's also a 91-volume index and a 35-volume index of contributors.
What is an acceptable source for Wikipedia? ›
Wikipedia articles should be based mainly on reliable secondary sources, i.e., a document or recording that relates or discusses information originally presented elsewhere. Reputable tertiary sources, such as introductory-level university textbooks, almanacs, and encyclopedias, may be cited.
How much do Wikipedia writers make? ›Gigs listed at sites like elance might offer the vague amount of "Less Than $500" for creating a new Wikipedia page for a business. A freelance writer named Mike Wood, who is quoted in multiple stories about editing Wikipedia for cash, told The Atlantic that his clients pay him $400 to $1,000 per article.
Why do you have to pay for Wikipedia? ›Unlike other top websites, Wikipedia is not funded through advertising, nor does it rely on selling data about users for profit. Instead, Wikipedia is supported by its readers - people who find value in Wikipedia and want to continue to support its success, with the average donation being about $15 USD.
What is the average age of a Wikipedia editor? ›26% are 22–29. 19% are 30–39. 28% editors are aged 40+.
Why can't you edit your own Wikipedia page? ›Wikipedia's administrators protect articles that are prone to vandalism, which they define as the addition of abusive language or falsehoods. So only registered users or administrators can edit the information on those articles.
What does Wikimedia pay? ›How much does Wikimedia Foundation in California pay? The average Wikimedia Foundation salary ranges from approximately $85,000 per year for Communication Specialist to $143,913 per year for Senior Software Engineer.
Can a small business have a Wikipedia page? ›Become a Wikipedia contributor.
If you want to start a business page on Wikipedia, join the community first. Start by contributing to other pages before you sign up and create your business's article. You need to create and edit relevant Wikipedia pages in your niche to learn the process of editing.
Your artist biography should be a summary of significant facts about your art career written in third person. Begin by introducing yourself with your name, medium, and some background information. This can include where you were born, where you work, and when you first became interested in art.
How do I create an artist profile? ›- Define your target audience, so you can have well-defined appropriate copy. ...
- Think like you are a reader, whether it is a seasoned collector or novice. ...
- Avoid jargon and being overly technical, so you don't alienate people.
- Decide the hook.
Artists are often required to submit an artist bio and artist statement for exhibitions, performances, and publicity tours. Artist bio: This is a biography of the artist covering career highlights, education, and a summary of their work to the present day.
How do I add my name to Wikipedia? ›
Click the "Sign in/create account" link in the upper right corner on the Wikipedia website. Click the link "Create One" above the boxes. This will take you to the account creation page (of course, if you are reading this on line, you could use this link directly instead of following step one and two).
Who writes your Wikipedia page? ›The articles on Wikipedia are collaboratively written by volunteers. Almost all articles have more than one author. If you want to know who wrote a particular article, click on the "history" tab at the top of that page. That will show who has edited the page.
Who makes Wikipedia pages for people? ›All Wikipedia pages and articles are edited collaboratively by a community of volunteer contributors. Individual contributors, also called editors, are known as Wikipedians. No one, no matter what, has the right to act as though they are the owner of a particular article (or any part of it).
How do I create a celebrity page? ›To create your page, go to Facebook's page creator and select Artist, Band, or Public Figure. Select Artist, Band, or Public Figure as the Facebook page type. Next, select Public Figure from the Category drop-down menu, type in your name, and click Get Started.
Can I pay someone to write my Wikipedia page? ›All known paid editors on Wikipedia are banned with the exception of one person that Wikipedia editors keep around as a token (different topic for a different article). Wikipedia has used different policies in order to ban them.
Can you make a Wikipedia page about someone else? ›Anyone can make a Wikipedia page about someone. The Wikipedia doesn't have any rules and regulations for who should make a Wikipedia page about someone. The platform is free to use, and you can easily create a page for anyone you want. There is no fee or charge for page creation.
Why do some famous people not have a Wikipedia page? ›Most likely because nobody decided to create a page on them. Wikipedia is a volunteer project, and rather than having a specified set of articles that should be created, people decide for themselves what they want to create or improve, which also tends to lead to a full coverage, but only over time.
How many followers do you need to be an online celebrity? ›The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), who make the guidelines that social media influencers must follow, have announced that anyone with more than 30,000 social media followers is now considered a celebrity - and subject to specific advertising rules.
How many followers do you need to be an Internet celebrity? ›Macro influencers have between 100,000 and 500,000 followers on Instagram. Mega influencers have between 500,000 and 5,000,000 followers on Instagram. Celebrities are defined as having over 5,000,000 followers on Instagram.
How to be private as a celebrity? ›- Develop a plan for managing your private life. This directly follows the first step. ...
- Be consistent. ...
- Stay out of the spotlight. ...
- Watch your public actions. ...
- Learn from others. ...
- Remember that fame and popularity don't last forever.
How do I contact a Wikipedia editor? ›
Editors interested in your article can be reached by leaving a note on the article's "talk" page. This can be found by clicking the "talk" link at the top of your article. Once you're there, click the "new section" tab to the right of that.
What are the rules for creating a Wikipedia page? ›“Wikipedia articles follow certain guidelines: the topic should be notable and be covered in detail in good references from independent sources. Wikipedia is an encyclopedia—it is not a personal home page or a business list. Do not use content from other websites even if you, your school, or your boss owns them.
Do people edit their own Wikipedia pages? ›Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints. There is no official way to correct information on your own Wikipedia page; however, there are some ways that are generally accepted. One of the most frowned-upon things in Wikipedia etiquette, however, is to edit one's own page.
How many people have a Wikipedia page about themselves? ›How many people on Earth has their own Wikipedia page? There is a category who job is to record all the living people who have wikipedia pages. Category:Living people - Wikipedia Currently this has 847,999 entries.
Has anyone sued Wikipedia? ›In 2014, Yank Barry filed a defamation lawsuit against four Wikipedia editors. He withdrew it after about a month.
What is the most controversial Wikipedia page? ›George W.
Former President of the United States George W. Bush's page is the most edited on the website. The page has had 45,862 edits since its creation, with most of the edits being made around 2004 to 2005, when he was re-elected and the Iraq War began.
| Page | Views in millions |
|---|---|
| Main Page | 46,800 |
| Special:Search | 15,000 |
| Special:Random | 7,900 |
| - | 2,900 |