How to Cite a Song in APA, MLA, and Chicago

Learning how to cite a song is easier once you know which parts to record: the recording artist, the song title, the album, the recording label, and the year. This guide shows you how to cite a song in APA 7th, MLA 9th, and Chicago (17th edition), with correct reference-list entries and in-text forms you can copy and adapt.

What information you need before you cite a song

Songs are recorded works, so the citation focuses on the recording rather than the printed sheet music. Whatever style you use, gather these details first:

• The recording artist or performer (the name listed on the track).
• The song title.
• The album or larger work the song appears on.
• The record label (also called the publisher).
• The year the recording was released.
• The platform or URL if you listened on a streaming service such as Spotify or YouTube.

If a streaming version does not show a record label, you can use the streaming service as the source. The examples below use generic data (artist Lopez, M.; the song “Title of Song”; the album Title of Album) so you can swap in your own details cleanly.

How to cite a song in APA (7th edition)

In APA 7th edition, the recording artist takes the author position. The song title is in sentence case and not italicized, the album title is italicized, and the recording label appears as the publisher. APA treats the songwriter and the performer separately only when they differ; for most assignments, the recording artist is enough.

Standard format

Artist, A. A. (Year). Title of song [Song]. On Title of album. Label.

Song heard on a streaming service

If you listened on Spotify or another platform, you can add the URL at the end. APA does not require a separate “Retrieved from” label for stable links.

To quote a lyric in the text, add a time stamp instead of a page number, for example (Lopez, 2019, 1:14). For a full walkthrough of the style, see our APA format guide, and use the APA citation generator to build the entry automatically.

How to cite a song in MLA (9th edition)

MLA 9th edition uses a container system. The song is the source, and the album (or the streaming service) is the container. The performer goes first when you are discussing the recording. Put the song title in quotation marks and italicize the album title.

Standard format

Performer. “Title of Song.” Title of Album, Label, Year.

Song accessed through a streaming service

When you stream a song, add the platform as a second container, followed by the URL. MLA does not require “https://” at the front of the link, so keep it clean and readable.

MLA in-text citations use the author or performer’s last name with no comma and no date. Because a recording has no page numbers, you usually cite the name alone. See the MLA format guide and the MLA citation generator for more model entries.

How to cite a song in Chicago (17th edition)

Chicago style offers two systems. Notes and Bibliography (common in the humanities) uses footnotes plus a bibliography entry. Author-Date (common in the sciences) uses parenthetical citations plus a reference list. The element order differs slightly between them, so pick the one your instructor requires.

Notes and Bibliography

The bibliography entry lists the performer, the song title in quotation marks, the album in italics, the label, and the year. A footnote uses commas and the same elements in running order.

Author-Date

In Author-Date, move the year forward so it sits right after the performer’s name. The in-text citation then gives the name and year in parentheses.

If you streamed the recording, add the platform and a URL or access date at the end of the entry. For full details on both Chicago systems, read the Chicago style guide or generate entries with the Chicago citation generator.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Italicizing the song title. In all three styles the song title is in quotation marks (MLA, Chicago) or plain text (APA). Only the album is italicized.
• Confusing the songwriter and the performer. Cite the recording artist for a sound recording. Use the composer only if your assignment is about the written composition.
• Skipping the medium label in APA. APA requires the bracketed descriptor [Song] after the title.
• Adding page numbers. Recordings have no pages. Use a time stamp (APA) or the performer’s name alone (MLA) when you quote a lyric.
• Mixing up ampersand and “and”. APA uses an ampersand between multiple authors in a reference; MLA and Chicago spell out “and”.

If your track lists several performers, our guide to citing multiple authors shows how each style handles two or more names.

Citing related audio and video sources

Songs often live alongside other media in a paper. If you found the track as a music video, follow the rules for citing a YouTube video, where the uploader and the upload date matter. For spoken-word audio such as an episode, see how to cite a podcast. And if you are quoting printed lyrics from a poetry collection rather than a recording, the rules for citing a poem apply instead.

Frequently asked questions

Do I cite the songwriter or the performer?

Cite the recording artist (the performer) when you are referencing a sound recording, which is the usual case. Use the songwriter or composer only if your assignment specifically discusses the written composition rather than the recorded version. If you need to credit both, name the performer in the author position and mention the songwriter in your text.

How do I cite a lyric I am quoting directly?

Recordings have no page numbers, so you locate a quotation differently in each style. In APA, add a time stamp after the year, for example (Lopez, 2019, 1:14). In MLA, the performer’s last name alone is usually enough. In Chicago, cite the name and, in Author-Date, the year.

How do I cite a song I heard on Spotify or YouTube?

Use the standard format for the style, then add the platform and the URL at the end. In MLA the platform becomes a second container in italics. In APA and Chicago you append the link after the label. If a streaming track shows no label, you can treat the streaming service as the source.

Is the song title italicized or in quotation marks?

The song title is never italicized. In MLA and Chicago it goes in quotation marks, and in APA it stays in plain sentence case. The album title is the part that gets italicized in every style, because it is the larger work that contains the song.