How to cite a song in MLA

MLA song citation

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.

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

Beyoncé. "Pretty Hurts." Beyoncé, Parkwood Entertainment, 2013, https://www.beyonce.com/album/beyonce/?media_view=songs.

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).

Automatic citations in seconds

Alternative to