This is an essay on notability. It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints.

Shortcuts WP:YAMB WP:MYSPACEBAND WP:YOUNGGARAGEBAND

Yet Another MySpace Band (YAMB). Acronym descriptive of the frequent misuse of Wikipedia as a repository of promotional information about someone's emerging garage band that's "going to hit it big one day", "really honest, my friend's cousin knows a guy in the band, and they're really good!"

Such articles tend to have the following characteristics:

• Lots of unsourced, promotional statements ("One of the hottest bands in the scene today" or "The East Coast's premier [add obscure genre] band")
• No albums released, or only a self-produced CD they gave to their friends or make available free online;
• Not signed to any label;
• Only play at minor local venues, such as local bars and restaurants;
• Written by the band, which is generally
• Made up entirely of teenagers; and
• The only "sources" supporting the notability of the band are Myspace pages, Facebook pages and user-edited websites and fansites (these are not Reliable sources on Wikipedia)
• Sometimes there is a bonafide Reliable source about the band, but all it does is indicate that the band exists, or that they played ("According to the New York Times, local warm-up acts during the afternoon included Young Garage Band X.")
• Sometimes, editors attempt an end run around WP:Notability guidelines by adding references that show one of the band members is indeed notable in some other field: "Young Garage Band X's bass player Suzy Xhosa was mentioned by the New York Times as one of the "Top ten young women to watch for in venture capital". This reference may support an article about Ms. Xhosa as a venture capitalist, but it can't be used to support the notability of an amateur garage band she plays in.

Most such articles are caught during New Page Patrol, and nominated for speedy deletion via A7 (lack of notability), or G11 (blatant advertising). Those which are not speedily deleted tend to end up at AFD, due to failing to meet either the Wikipedia general notability guidelines or the subject-specific guidelines for bands and other musical groups.

Such articles often turn up or end up in userspace "while editors look for reliable independent sourcing". Frequently they are then left there indefinitely. However, they are often only written for promotional purposes, and are deleteable at WP:MFD, or as per WP:CSD#G11, ((db-promo)), if blatant.

• Wikipedia:No one cares about your garage band