Merge Artists Edit

This EditType merges one Artist into another. All releases and tracks are transferred to the target artist, and the source artist's name is added as an ArtistAlias to the target artist.

How to do it

• The Merge into... link below the name on the source Artist page takes you to a page where you can search MusicBrainz for the target artist you wish to merge the source artist into. If the reason for the merge is not self evident, enter an EditNote explaining your reasons.
• For a detailed HowTo, see HowToMergeArtists

Guidelines

Editing

• MergeMisspelledArtists:

• Use a MergeArtistsEdit to fix misspelled artist names & auto-create aliases.

• DontMergeIdenticallyNamedArtists:

• It is possible for IdenticallyNamedArtists to exist in the database. They should not be merged if they are different artists!

• DontAlwaysMergeAliases:

• If an artist has released radically different material under an alias, it is preferable to keep the artists separate . (Aphex Twin is a good example of this, another would be Sub Sub / Doves).

Voting

• Links to discographies and/or the MusicBrainz links to Amazon info or cover art can be useful for verifying the correct spelling of an artist name.
• Check that the artists don't appear on the NotDuplicateArtists page.

Notes

Note that a MergeArtistsEdit does not cause overwriting or merging of releases or tracks. If both source and target have a release called "Greatest Hits", say, then after the merge the target artist will have two releases both called "Greatest Hits".

When the merge is approved, the source artist's name is added as an ArtistAlias to the target artist. This may occasionally be undesirable, so it may be necessary to manually delete the alias from the target artist using a RemoveArtistAliasEdit.

The source artist's ArtistSortName is thrown away when the mod is approved.

This edit is always put to a vote, even if made by an AutoEditor.

Prerequisites

A MergeArtistsEdit will fail due to a FailedPrerequisite if the source artist is renamed (with an EditArtistNameEdit) or deleted (with a RemoveArtistEdit).

Dependencies

A MergeArtistsEdit will fail due to a FailedPrerequisite if the target artist is renamed (with an EditArtistNameEdit) or deleted (with a RemoveArtistEdit).

Symbolic name and id

MOD_MERGE_ARTIST (6)