On this page
Updated . Example details checked against Lemonade, Parkwood Entertainment, 2016.
The MLA format
Pattern
Artist. “Song Title.” Album Title, Label, Year.
- Artist as the author, written as they are known.
- Song quoted; album italic.
- Streaming: add the service in italics and the link as a second container.
- Lyrics: cite a line with the time stamp, or cite the lyrics page where you read them.
A real example
Works Cited entry
Beyoncé. “Formation.” Lemonade, Parkwood Entertainment, 2016.
In-text citation
(Beyoncé)
The whole album
Works Cited entry
Beyoncé. Lemonade. Parkwood Entertainment, 2016.
In-text citation
(Beyoncé)
When details are missing
- A single with no album: the song title stands alone in quotation marks.
- A songwriter focus: start with the songwriter and “songwriter.”
Common mistakes
- Italic song title. Songs are parts of albums: quotation marks.
Or let Format do it.
Choose Song or album and fill in the artist, title, album, label and year. Format writes the Works Cited entry and the in-text citation in MLA 9, exactly as shown above, and builds the Works Cited page when you export to Word or PDF. MLA and APA are free.
Questions
How do I cite a music video?
As a video: the artist, the title, YouTube, uploaded by the channel, the date and URL.
Do I need the label?
Yes, as the publisher.
More citation guides
The same source in other styles
Similar sources in MLA
Every source kind is on the MLA page, and every style is on How to cite.