Artists assigned the wrong country

[RFNAPLES]

Reconsider these artists:

Rufus Wainwright-born in Rhinebeck, New York, United States, citizen of US and Canada
Regina Spektor-born in Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union, at 9 immigrated and resides in New York, United States
Alexander Lee "Skip" Spence-born in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, immigrated to US, served in US Navy
John Butler-born in Torrance, California, United States, Australian father, American mother, immigrated to Australia at 10
Slick Rick-born in London, England, United Kingdom, at 10 immigrated to New York, United States, fighting deportation

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[albummaster]

OK, thanks for the feedback. We've tried to be neutral and fair with this and we don't favour any particular country over the rest so it's not a personal thing.

To respond to the particular queries that have been raised:

Fleetwood Mac - was Mixed, now UK

The Band - was Mixed, now Canada

The Pogues - was Mixed, now UK

The Traveling Wilburys - was Mixed, now US

My Bloody Valentine - was Mixed, now Ireland

The Pretenders - was Mixed, suggestion is UK (but it could be UK or US). Formed in England, but lead singer is American. *

Garbage - was Mixed, suggestion is US (but it could be UK or US). Formed in US, but lead singer is Scottish. *

Gotye - was Mixed, now Australia

John Butler (and trio) - was Australia (staying as is)

* Staying as it is unless there is more evidence for one particular country over another.

In terms of definitions, the 'rules' and logic we have tried to use are broadly as follows:

Solo artists:
An individual is from one country if they were born and raised to adulthood in one country. There might be exceptions to this e.g. artists who released work during childhood while in one country, but later moved to another. These will be treated on a case by case basis.

If you were born in one country and raised in another, you would be considered of the other nationality if you went to that country whilst still in infancy and then remained living in that country until adulthood.

If you were born in one country and spent your childhood moving between different countries, then an artist is assigned 'Mixed Nationality' e.g. Rufus Wainwright.

Groups
If all artists in the collaboration are of the same nationality (as defined above), the collaboration is also assigned this nationality.

If any of the artists are of different nationality (as defined above), the collaboration is assigned 'Mixed Nationality' e.g. Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin & Paco de Lucía.

If any of the main performers (e.g. lead vocalist, lead guitarist etc) are of different nationality to the rest of the group (as defined above), the artist may be assigned 'Mixed Nationality'. (I found myself dithering quite a bit with Fleetwood Mac when setting to UK.)

If a minor performer within the group is of different nationality, the group as a whole could still be assigned the majority nationality (e.g. if the input of the 'minor' performer does not materially define the sound of the group as a whole). This is the 'rule' that could be a bit contentious, so there is room for manoeuvre here.

Tthe country of formation is not really taken into account. The Costa del Sol example earlier in this thread explains the logic around this.

I hope the above helps to clarify things and if you'd like to debate any of the above, I'd love to hear your feedback.

albummaster

[RFNAPLES]

Four musicians all born and raised in the UK move to the US and form a band in the US. Each of the musicians has parents of different nationalities, none UK or US. Are they a UK, US or Mixed band? What if the band and musicians later move to Russia?
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[albummaster]

That's the point really, it sometimes isn't absolutely clear. We will try to make the best judgement that we can. Where people have a different opinion, we are quite open to debate and will change things where necessary (this has always been the case and always will be).

FWIW, I'd say, in your example, that this band would be a UK band. They would probably remain a UK band even if they later moved to Russia (since they were all born and raised in the UK).

[albummaster]

[RFNAPLES]

It is not clear exactly when Alexander Lee "Skip" Spence moved to California but it was sometime in the late 1950's making him no older than 13. (He didn't get a guitar until 10, not sure when or where he started drums.) He began as a folk-artist in California. His first two professional gigs were with Quicksilver Messenger Service and Jefferson Airplane (both California US bands). He later cofounded Moby Grape also a California US band. He died in California, is buried in California, and served in the US Navy. Nationality: US. Sounds like he should be listed as US.
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[albummaster]

The fact that he served for the US military and had his music career there probably does swing this to US. We've now updated. Thanks for the background info.

[albummaster]

This topic is now locked. All corrections should now submitted via the relevant album or band administration page.