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{{MoS guideline|WP:SAMPLE|}}
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'''Music samples''' can be a valuable addition to articles about bands, musical styles, and genres. They can illustrate the particular instruments or musical elements in a song in a way that a text description cannot. However, usage of such samples needs to comply with copyright law and Wikipedia's guidelines. The limitations on length and quality described here apply only to [[Wikipedia:Fair use|fair use]] samples; [[free content]] samples are not subject to these limitations.

== Guidelines ==

* Copyrighted, unlicensed music samples must be short in comparison to the original song. As a [[rule of thumb]], samples should not exceed 30 seconds or 10% of the length of the original song, whichever is shorter.
* Samples must be of reduced quality from the original. For an .ogg file, a [[Vorbis]] quality setting of 0 (roughly 64kbit/s) is usually sufficient.
** To do this, you can open the file using [[Audacity (audio editor)|Audacity]], delete the part that exceeds the maximum length, and export the sample ("File>Export>Export as OGG"). In the Export dialog, move the quality slider to 0 before saving.
** [[Transcoding]] samples into another format (e.g. ogg → mp3) has been performed by MediaWiki software, especially for web browsers and devices that do not support an original format. However, transcoded files often have larger size and nominal [[bit rate]] than original ones. Changing an original file's quality will affect the size of a transcoded file, but transcoded files will still be larger.
* [[Wikipedia:File_Upload_Wizard|Upload to Wikipedia]], not to Wikimedia Commons.
* Specify a precise title for the media file (for example, "The Beatles - Michelle.ogg" instead of "beatles1.ogg").
* Add proper licensing information to the Image description page. For copyrighted music samples it should be {{tl|Non-free audio sample}}.
* Each copyrighted music sample must be accompanied by a suitable [[Wikipedia:Non-free use rationale guideline|fair use rationale]], or it will be deleted.
* Add relevant information about the sample in the description page, especially length and quality, but also copyrights, album, songwriters, producers, etc. The template '''{{tl|Music sample info}}''' can help with this. This is not a replacement for {{tl|Non-free use rationale audio sample}}.
* There should be only one sample per song recording, even if several users produce samples. If a new sample is uploaded, the old one must be deleted. In the case of a multi-section/[[movement (music)|movement]] work, such as a [[symphony]] or [[opera]], the use of one relevant sample per section/movement is acceptable.

===Inclusion in article===
*'''Contextual significance'''
:Properly uploaded music samples should only be added to articles in which the song or a particular aspect of it is discussed and referenced. This is necessary to meet the "Contextual significance" requirement for use of non-free content: 1) the item [song or portion of] is ''itself the subject of sourced commentary'' in the article, or 2) where only by including such non-free content, can the reader ''identify an object, style, or behavior'', that is a subject of discussion in the article [emphasis in original]. (see [[WP:F#Meeting the contextual significance criterion|Meeting the contextual significance criterion]].)

*'''Use and location of templates'''
:Music samples are added to articles by using the [[Template:Listen]] within the main body of the article or [[Template:Audio sample]] to add it to an infobox. When using {{tl|Listen}}, the template should be placed in the paragraph where the song is discussed if possible.

::'''Listen example'''
::A non-free sample of "Home at Last" is located in the ''[[Aja (album)#Critical reception|Aja]]'' album article in the Critical reception section, where sourced commentary about its style is included. The code is as follows (see the [[Template:Listen|template documentation]] for more options):
{{quote|
<pre>{{Listen
| type = music
| filename = Home at Last.ogg
| title = "Home at Last"
| description = 30-second sample
| pos =
}}</pre>}}

::'''Audio sample (for Infobox) example'''
::A free sample of "[[Crazy Blues]]" is added to the {{tl|Infobox song}} in {{para|misc}} using {{tl|Audio sample}}. Since the title and artist are already included in the infobox, an additional header or description is not needed. The code is (see the [[Template:Audio sample|template documentation]] for more options):
{{quote|<pre>
{{Infobox song
...
| misc = {{subst:Audio sample
| type = single
| file = Mamie Smith, Crazy Blues.ogg
}}
}}</pre>}}

*'''Number of samples'''
:The [[Wikipedia:Non-free_content#Multimedia|Non-free content]] guideline advises against "An excessive number of short audio clips in a single article". It adds "A small number may be appropriate if each is accompanied by commentary in the accompanying text{{nbsp}}... The use of non-free media (whether images, audio or video clips) in galleries, discographies, and navigational and user-interface elements generally fails the test for significance (criterion #8 [Contextual significance])." Examples of multiple samples within [[WP:FA|featured articles]] include [[Jimi Hendrix]] (artist article with three song samples) and ''[[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]]'' (album article with four samples).

== What is the maximum length permitted? ==
10% of the length of the original song up to a maximum of 30 seconds, as explained above. The table below explains how this works in practice:

{| class="wikitable"
! Original (m:ss)
| 0:30 || 1:00 || 1:30 || 2:00 || 2:30 || 3:00 || 3:30 || 4:00 || 4:30 || 5:00 and longer
|-
! Maximum length of sample (m:ss)
| 0:03 || 0:06 || 0:09 || 0:12 || 0:15 || 0:18 || 0:21 || 0:24 || 0:27 || 0:30
|}

== See also ==

* [[Wikipedia:Creation and usage of media files]]
* [[Wikipedia:Fair use]]
* [[Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not]]
* [[:Category:Song articles missing an audio sample]]

{{WikiProject Music/Related WikiProjects}}
{{Wikipedia policies and guidelines}}

[[Category:Wikipedia Manual of Style (music)]]

Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Music samples - Revision history

Tachyony: Imported page