How to Cite Music or Recordings in APA Style

Share this article

Table of contents

Citing songs, music or recordings

Writing essays on music has its own stylistic conventions. No matter what style guide is used, it is important to be consistent, straightforward and clear across a variety of media. The APA stylebook requires that you gather the following information:

Author name
Year of publication
Title
City where the work was recorded
Music label

We then recommend you use the following APA structure.

APA Music/Recording citation format:

Last name, initial (Year). Title [Medium]. Music Label, City, Country.

Examples:

Pink Floyd (1979). The Wall [CD]. Columbia Records, London, UK.
Hootie & The Blowfish (1994). Cracked Rear View [CD]. Atlantic Records, North Hollywood, USA.
Jackson, M. (1982) Thriller [CD]. Repic Records, West Hollywood, USA.