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How to cite a song in MLA 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 MLA style 8th edition include the following elements:
Artist(s) name: Give the name of the artist, or band name in full.Title of the song: Titles are italicized when independent. If part of a larger source add quotation marks and do not italize.Name of the album: Container titles are italicized and followed by a comma.Publisher: Always use the abbreviated version, e.g: MIT P for MIT Press or Oxford UP for Oxford University Press.year of release: 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 MLA style 8th edition:
Artist(s) name ."Title of the song ." Name of the album Publisher ,year of release .Song format .
Song accessed online:
Artist(s) name: Give the name of the artist, or band name in full.Title of the song: Titles are italicized when independent. If part of a larger source add quotation marks and do not italize.Music platform: Give the title of the music platform, e.g. Spotify, Soundcloud, etc.Publisher: Give the name of the publishing company if availableYear of release: Give the year of publication as presented in the source.URL: Copy URL in full from your browser, omit http:// or https:// and do not list URLs created by shortening services.Here is the basic format for a reference list entry of a song in MLA style 8th edition:
Artist(s) name ."Title of the song ." Music platform Publisher ,Year of release ,URL .
Take a look at our works cited examples that demonstrate the MLA style guidelines in action:
Examples
A song by a band retrieved from a CD
Florence + the Machine . "Hunger ." High as Hope Virgin EMI , 2018 . CD .
A song by a band retrieved from a streaming platform
Florence + the Machine . "Hunger ." Spotify Virgin EMI , 2018 , open.spotify.com/album/0pKZJj9GzcKPCS8r4IaksA .
MLA in-text citation of a song Audio-visual material uses the specific time of the audio/video for in-text citations.
(Last name time) or (Short form of title time) .
Examples
A song by a band retrieved from a streaming platform
The chorus of the song shows characteristic tunes of indie music (Florence 00:01:43-00:2:20) .
This citation style guide is based on the MLA Handbook (8th edition).
