How to Cite Recorded Music in APA Style (+ Playlist)

by Jeff Hume-Pratuch

It’s December 22, the date on which I traditionally panic about the holidays. Cards sit unwritten, unaddressed, and unstamped on my desk. Cookies are unbaked, gifts are unbought, and the house is distinctly underdecorated!

But this year I am as cool as a cup of eggnog, for I have come up with the perfect holiday playlist to accompany my last-minute flurry of activity. Don’t tell my colleagues, but certain people may be finding a mix tape in their stockings (accompanied by a reference list, of course—we are the APA Style Experts.)

The Basics
In a previous post, I showed you some examples for citing sheet music in APA Style. The format for a recorded song is similar, but it resembles a chapter rather than a book. The name of the songwriter goes in the author position:

Writer, A. (Copyright year). Title of song [Recorded by B. B. Artist].     On Title of album [Medium of recording]. Location: Label. (Date of     recording)

So, for example, where the songwriter and performing artist are the same, the reference would look like this:

Baron Cohen, E. (2010). My Hanukkah (Keep the fire alive). On     Songs in the key of Hanukkah [MP3 file]. Burbank, CA:     WaterTower Music. Fuchs, G. (2004). Light the menorah. On Eight nights of Hanukkah [CD].     Brick, NJ: Kid Kosher. Lehrer, T. (2000). (I’m spending) Hanukkah in Santa Monica. On The     remains of Tom Lehrer [CD]. New York, NY: Rhino.

Variations on a Theme
If the song is recorded by someone other than the songwriter, include the information about the recording artist(s) in brackets after the song title.

Lavin, C. (2003). A Christmas/Kwanzaa/Solstice/Chanukah/Ramadan/     Boxing Day song [Recorded by C. Lavin & the Mistletones]. On The     runaway Christmas tree [CD]. West Chester, PA: Appleseed Recordings. Page, S. (2010). Hanukkah blessings [Recorded by Barenaked Ladies].     On Barenaked for the holidays [CD]. London, England: Raisin Records.

If the recording identifies the lyricist and composer, include their roles in parentheses after the name:

Geisel, T. (Lyricist), & Hague, A. (Composer). (1966). Welcome     Christmas! On Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch stole Christmas &     Horton hears a Who [CD]. New York, NY: Rhino. Wesley, C. (Lyricist), & Mendelssohn, F. (Composer). (2006). Hark! The     herald angels sing [Recorded by the Vince Guaraldi Trio]. On A     Charlie Brown Christmas [CD]. Beverly Hills, CA: Fantasy Records.

However, it’s not necessary to note the species if performers are non-Homo sapiens:

Bagdasarian, R., Sr. (1962). The chipmunk song [Recorded by D. Seville     & The Chipmunks]. On Christmas with the Chipmunks [CD]. Los Angeles,     CA: Capitol Records. (2002) Burland, S. (1963). The chickens are in the chimes [Recorded by     S. Burland, M. Adams, & The Skipjack Choir]. On The chickens are in     the chimes [Vinyl record]. New York, NY: RCA Victor. Hayes, B., & Johnson, J. W. (1948). Blue Christmas [Recorded by S. Swine     & The Squeelers]. On John Boy and Billy’s Christmas album [Audio     cassette]. Nashville, TN: Arista Records. (1998)

Particularly with traditional holiday music, the author may be unknown. In that case, the title of the song moves to the author position:

God rest ye merry, gentlemen [Recorded by Jars of Clay]. (2007). On     Christmas songs. Vancouver, Canada: Nettwerk. I have a little dreidel [Recorded by Sister Hazel]. (2007). On Santa’s     playlist. Newark, NJ: Rock Ridge Music.

Text Citations
For music recordings, the text citation consists of the songwriter(s) and date, along with the track number (or side and band, for vinyl records):

Lehrer (2000, track 11) noted that East St. Louis was not the optimal spot for a celebration of Shavuot.

If the copyright date and recording date are different, use both dates in the text citation:

Bernard, F. & Smith, R. B. (1934). Winter wonderland [Recorded by     The Eurythmics]. On A very special Christmas [CD]. Santa Monica,     CA: A&M Records. (2006) “Winter Wonderland” (Bernard & Smith, 1934/2006, track 5)

A Very Special APA Holiday
To all of our readers, we wish you happy holidays and a prosperous new year! You can listen to the entire playlist for this article on Spotify at APA Holiday.