Template:Infobox musical artist

Please be aware that this template is being proposed as a guideline for use in the Musicians WikiProject. It is subject to change and may ultimately be rejected all together. To participate in the discussion and development, please visit WikiPedia:WikiProject Musicians/Article guidelines#Infobox

{{Infobox musical artist
|Name            = 
|Img             = 
|Img_capt        = 
|Img_size        = (Only use for images smaller than 220 pixels)
|Background      = 
|Birth_name      = 
|Alias           = 
|Born            = 
|Died            = 
|Origin          = 
|Instrument      = 
|Genre           = 
|Occupation      = 
|Years_active    = 
|Label           = 
|Associated_acts = 
|URL             = 
|Current_members = 
|Past_members    = 
|Notable_instruments =
}}

Fields

	Type	Description
Name		Name of the group or artist ("the act").
Img		An image of the act, sufficiently clear for display at 200 pixels' width.
Img_capt		Caption for the image above.
Background		A name chosen according to the established guidelines below.
Birth_name	solo acts	The artist's name at birth (solo acts).
Alias		For listing official stage names for the act; also for solo artists who change their birth name.
Born	solo acts	The artist's date of birth; if s/he was born in one city but raised or established in another, list the city of birth here as well.
Died	solo acts	The date and location of the artist's death.
Origin	groups	The city from which the group originated.
Instrument	solo acts	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.
Genre		The genre or genres of music performed by the act. Aim for generality (e.g. Hip hop rather than East Coast hip hop).
Occupation	solo acts	Roles the artist has fulfilled (e.g. musician, songwriter, producer, etc).
Years active		Period in years during which the act was or has been active.
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 [[Arista Records|Arista]] rather than [[Arista Records]].)
Associated_acts		Acts from which this act spun off; acts which spun off a group act; groups with which an artist performs; other acts with which the act is associated.
URL		The (NB singular) web address for the act's official website.
Current_members	groups	Current members of the group, listed in order with no other notation than names.
Past_members	groups	Past members of the group, listed in order with no other notation than names. If a group is inactive, all members should be listed here, and none in the "current members" field.
Notable_instruments	solo acts	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).

Notes

• Never link years, unless accompanied by dates.
• Most fields are optional and the row will simply be omitted if no data is supplied.
• Please see the WikiProject Musicians project page for more information about this template.

Colors

The infobox is color-coded to provide a quick indication of the type of group/performer, e.g. solo artist, orchestra, etc. This is similar to the color schemes used by Wikipedia:WikiProject Albums and other projects. Please discuss additional types that need to be accounted for on the talk page.

The user doesn't choose the colors directly but simply specifies a name in the Background field which identifies the type of performer. The possible background colors, with the corresponding names, are indicated on the bars in the table below.

bgcolor="Template:Infobox musical artist 2/color selector"|solo_singer	All vocal solo artists (includes singer-songwriters and singer-instrumentalists)
bgcolor="Template:Infobox musical artist 2/color selector"|non_vocal_instrumentalist	All non-vocal instrumentalists
bgcolor="Template:Infobox musical artist 2/color selector"|non_performing_personnel	All producers, songwriters, arrangers, engineers, and other non-performing personnel
bgcolor="Template:Infobox musical artist 2/color selector"|group_or_band	All groups, bands, crews, or other non-classical music ensembles
bgcolor="Template:Infobox musical artist 2/color selector"|cover_band	Cover and tribute bands (same as Wikipedia:WikiProject Albums' color for covers/tribute albums)
bgcolor="Template:Infobox musical artist 2/color selector"|classical_ensemble	All orchestras and other classical music ensembles
bgcolor="Template:Infobox musical artist 2/color selector"|temporary	Temporary collaborative projects

Sample template

The following template code produced the info box on this page

{{Infobox musical artist
|Name = The Five Heartbeats
|Img = Five heartbeats.jpg
|Img_capt = The Five Heartbeats.
|Background = group_or_band
|Origin = [[New York City]], [[New York]], [[USA]]
|Genre = [[R&B]]/[[soul music|soul]]
|Years_active = 1965 - 1973
|Label = Big Red, A&B
|URL = [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Five_Heartbeats]
|Past_members = Eddie King, Jr. <br /> J.T. Matthews <br /> Donald "Duck" Matthews <br> Anthony "Choirboy" Stone <br /> Terrance "Dresser" Williams <br /> Michael "Flash" Turner
}}