A style guide for the music biz

Now there’s a style guide for the music biz:

Don’t use ampersands when two artists collaborate, the guide cautions, unless they are as inseparable as Hootie & the Blowfish. Beware excessive description when identifying artists, such as “Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin,” or “Jimi Hendrix (Guitarist).” Avoid using “random capitalization” in song titles such as “a TIMe to love.”

Grammar Rocks: These New Punctuation Rules Are fo’ Realz (Wall Street Journal)

Despite the Wall Street Journal article’s title and opening reference to Strunk and White, the Music Metadata Style Guide makes no mention of grammar or punctuation. NONe. Or none. It covers the more mundane matters of capitalization, spelling, and metadata entry. See for yourself: fill out a form to get a free copy.

I especially like these sentences from the guide:

Genres must not be egregiously misclassified (for example, Hip Hop in place of Children’s Music). For a complete list of acceptable genres, contact your Digital Merchant Store.

Yep, it’s a business.

[Merriam-Webster spells hip-hop with an apostrophe.]