Style / Specific types of releases / Soundtrack

Status: This is an official style guideline.

Application

This guideline covers release groups of type “Soundtrack”, and the releases, recordings, and works associated with them.

Guidelines

Soundtrack style should generally follow the normal release guidelines, with the below exceptions.

Note that soundtracks for films or TV shows based on musical theatre shows should use the relevant guideline.

Work

The title should be just the basic name of the track.

The name of the show or film should be placed in the disambiguation comment along with an additional distinguisher if applicable (often the year). If the work has a descriptive title (e.g. “Love Theme”), it should be included after the show title. If the work was used in a specific episode of a TV series, the episode name may be included as well, enclosed in quotation marks. If the song has the same name as the show or film, there is no need to duplicate the title in the disambiguation.

Examples (disambiguation in link, italics):

In addition, each part of a soundtrack may be linked to one or more 'complete soundtrack' works with the use of the 'part of' relationship.

Examples:

Release

Title
Follow normal title guidelines. Consider text such as "Original Motion Picture Score" or "Music from the Motion Picture" as release subtitles.
Artist
The Release Artist of a soundtrack should include the writers (composers and/or lyricists) and performers featured on the front cover. Use only writers and performers who are featured on the front cover (or the spine); don't add artists from the back cover or the inside of the booklet or other places. If the credits contain both writers and performers, begin with the writers. If there aren't any clear featured artists (for example, for a compilation of film themes), use the special artist Various Artists.

Examples:

Track

Title
The title should be listed as it appears on the cover. “OST” and other initialisms should not be expanded.
Artist
If the cover art lists specific artists for each track, that artist should be placed in the track's Artist Credit field. If there are no track artists, use the release artist instead. If there is no release artist, use the composer for each track instead. If the composer is unknown, use [unknown].

Examples:

  • Alien - Jerry Goldsmith
  • Pops in Space - John Williams & the Boston Pops Compilation, but one artist credit covers the entire release
  • Brain in a Box: The Science Fiction Collection - VA Compilation. Many tracks do not include credits, necessitating the use of composer. Also includes two recordings of the same work, one a traditional soundtrack and the other a pop version, credited accordingly.

Release Group

Film scores (which showcase the background music of a film/show) should not be merged with pop soundtracks (albums of pop songs heard in whole or part in the background of a film/show).

Examples:

Alternate-language releases in which each release contains new recordings for its language should each be in separate release groups.

Examples:

Recording

Title
Use the same format as the work, above.
Artist
The Recording Artist field should list the most important performers who appear on that specific recording, but it is acceptable that newly-created recordings have their artist information derived from a tracklist.

Examples:

Style
Overview
Title Style
Entities
Relationships
Classical
Special Cases/Misc.
Languages