6th edition 7th edition
How to cite a song in Chicago
Here are two forms to cite a song depending on where you accessed it. The first one is for songs on CDs, vinyls, cassettes, etc. Variant B is for songs available on streaming platforms or online.
To cite a song in a reference entry in Chicago style 17th edition include the following elements:
- Artist(s) name: Write artistic names as given, e.g. 'Lady Gaga.' Reverse if it is a regular name 'Smith, Sam.'
- Title of the song: Give the official title of the song.
- Track number: Give the song's number in the list.
- Title of the album: Give the title as presented in the source.
- Publisher: Give the publisher name in full.
- Year of publication: Give the year of publication as presented in the source.
- Song format: Describe the song format, e.g: CD, Vinyl, etc.
Here is the basic format for a reference list entry of a song in Chicago style 17th edition:
Artist(s) name. "Title of the song." Track number Title of the album. Publisher, Year of publication, Song format.
To cite a song in a reference entry in Chicago style 17th edition include the following elements:
- Artist(s) name: Give first the last name, then the name as presented in the source (e. g. Watson, John). For two authors, reverse only the first name, followed by ‘and’ and the second name in normal order (e. g. Watson, John, and John Watson). For more than seven authors, list the first seven names followed by et al.
- Title of the song: Give the official title.
- Recorded date: Give the month, day and year of publication.
- Location: Give the place of publication of the source.
- Song format: Describe the song format, e.g: video, audio recording, etc.
- Length of song: Give the total length of the audio-visual source (e.g. 00:14:06).
- URL: Give the full URL from the direct source. Include http:// or https://.
Here is the basic format for a reference list entry of a song in Chicago style 17th edition:
Artist(s) name. "Title of the song." Recorded date at Location. Song format, Length of song. URL.
Take a look at our reference list examples that demonstrate the Chicago style guidelines in action:
Examples
A song by a band retrieved from a CD
Florence + the Machine. "Hunger." Track 2 on High as Hope. Virgin EMI, 2018, CD.
A song by a band retrieved from a YouTube video
Florence + the Machine. "Dog Days Are Over." Recorded July 2010 at Oxegen Festival, County Kildare, Ireland. YouTube video, 7:22. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiDIObd8YaI.
