On Sight - Free Nationals, JID, Kadhja Bonet, 4:09 0:30. ONLY ONE - SATICA. JEAN POCKET - SATICA. View all on Spotify. Los Angeles-based melodic Hip-Hop/Electronic R&B duo MIKNNA is cultivating what can best be described as a sonic excursion, transporting listeners to a.

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Music is an art form—and just as you’d analyze a poem for a literary paper or cite a painting for an art history paper, you may find yourself using a song as a source, especially if you’re enrolled in music theory courses. Here, we’ve laid out how to cite a song, so if you’re deciding whether or not to include a song in your next paper based on whether you can figure out how to cite it, go for it! Citing songs, whether you’re working off the audio recording or using written lyrics, is actually a pretty similar process to what you might have done for other kinds of citations.

Citation Generator

Although citing a song might seem unfamiliar, there’s no need to worry. We’ve got you covered for both audio recordings and written song lyrics, whether you need to cite in MLA format, APA format, or Chicago style.

Citing an Audio Recording of a Song Found Online

If you’ve ever cited a movie before, you’ll discover that citing an audio recording of a song is a pretty similar process. But even if you’ve only cited text before, you should be a pro at song citations in no time! We’ve included examples of how you would cite Ed Sheeran’s “Don’t” for each of the three styles as well.

To cite an audio recording of a song, you should make note of the following pieces of information:
1. Singer’s name
2. Songwriter’s name
3. Title of the song (and subtitle, if there is one)
4. Title of the album (and subtitle, if there is one)
5. Album’s Edition (if there is one)
6. Track Number
7. Publisher
8. Year of publication
10. Website or database where the song was found
11. URL
12. Date the song was accessed online
13. The names of any other contributors

Use the following structure to cite an audio recording found online in MLA 8:

Singer’s Last Name, Singer’s First Name. “Title of the Song.” Title of the Album, album’s ed., Publisher, Year of publication, track number. Website or Database Name, URL (remove https:// or https://).

Here’s how the above example would be cited in MLA 8:

Sheeran, Ed. “Don’t.” X, deluxe ed., Asylum Records, 2014, track 4. Spotify, play.spotify.com/track/34gCuhDGsG4bRPIf9bb02f?play=true&utm_source=open.spotify.com&utm_medium=open.

Use the following structure to cite an audio recording in APA format:

Songwriter’s Last Name, Songwriter’s First Initial. (Year of publication). Title of the song [Recorded by Singer’s First Initial, Singer’s Last Name if different from writer*]. On Title of the album [Audio file]. Retrieved from URL

*Do not include the information in the brackets if the name of the songwriter is the same person as the singer or performer.

Here’s how the above example would be cited in APA:

Sheeran, E. (2014). Don’t. On X. [Audio file]. Retrieved from https://play.spotify.com/track/34gCuhDGsG4bRPIf9bb02f?play=true&utm_source=open.spotify.com&utm_medium=open

Use the following structure to cite an audio recording in Chicago:

Singer’s Last name, Singer’s First name. Title of the Song. Publisher, Year of publication, Accessed Month Day, Year. URL.

Here’s how the above example would be cited in Chicago:

Sheeran, Ed. Don’t. Asylum Records, 2014, Accessed June 5, 2017. https://play.spotify.com/track/34gCuhDGsG4bRPIf9bb02f?play=true&utm_source=open.spotify.com&utm_medium=open.

Citing Song Lyrics Found Online

Citing written song lyrics is pretty similar to citing an audio recording, but if you’re used to mostly citing written work, you may find this procedure a bit easier since you’re citing words off a page rather than audio. Here, we’ve cited “Imagine,” a song by John Lennon which you’ve surely heard before—and one which could be the subject of rich analysis for your next paper.

To cite written song lyrics, you should make note of the following pieces of information:
1. Singer’s name
2. Songwriter’s name
3. Title of the song (and subtitle, if there is one)
4. Title of the album (and subtitle, if there is one)
5. Album’s Edition (if there is one)
6. Track number
7. Publisher
8. Year of publication
9. Website or Database where the lyrics were found
10. URL
11. Date the lyrics were accessed online
12. The names of any other contributors

Use the following structure to cite written song lyrics in MLA 8:

Singer’s Last Name, Singer’s First Name. “Title of the Song.” Title of the Album, Names of other contributors, Album’s Publisher, Year of publication, track Number. Name of Website, URL (remove https:// or https://).

Here’s how the above example would be cited in MLA 8:

Lennon, John. “Imagine.” Imagine, Ascot Sound Studios, 1971, track 1. Genius,
genius.com/John-lennon-imagine-lyrics.

Use the following structure to cite written song lyrics in APA format:

Songwriter(s) Last Name, Songwriter(s) First Initial. (Year of publication). Title of song [Lyrics]. Retrieved from URL

Here’s how the above example would be cited in APA:

Lennon, J. (1971). Imagine [Lyrics]. Retrieved from https://genius.com/John-lennon-imagine-lyrics

Use the following structure to cite an written song lyrics in Chicago:

Singer’s Last Name, Singer’s First Name. “Title of the song.” Name of Website. Accessed Month Day, Year. URL.

Here’s how the above example would be cited in Chicago:

Lennon, John. “Imagine.” Genius. Accessed June 5, 2017. https://genius.com/John-lennon-imagine-lyrics.

Citation Guides

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Not everyone's lucky enough to be a signed music artist. Fortunately even if you're not signed to a label there's still ways to get your music on streaming services. Distribution services offer that and a lot more, including physical releases, statistics and marketing tools. Some services even offer marketing help for artists who start to 'catch' after a few releases - like adding tracks to Spotify playlists. Here's a comparison of what the best distributors have to offer.

Distrokid

Distrokid allows you to upload as many tracks as you want for a yearly membership fee. What’s good about them as well is that they take no commission from your music - you get all the money you earn from your music. Unfortunately they don’t offer marketing help or playlist plugging possibilities.

+ No commission (you get all the money you earn)

+ You can upload as many songs as you wish for one yearly price

+ They're about to introduce SMS message marketing tools for artists

– No additional marketing help for artists who gain traction

Pricing: $20 per year membership fee

Tunecore

Tunecore is the service for you if you’re interested in proper revenue and analytics reports. They’re very easy to use, detailed and helpful. Although they take no commission the price is a bit higher compared to Distrokid.

+ No commission

+ Very good revenue and analytics reports

Pricing: $30 first year, $50 next years

Marketing your own music? Here's a 4-step music producer’s guide to social media.

AWAL (Artists Without A Label)

AWAL might be for you if you’re trying to get your music on Spotify playlists. They don’t take any fees for putting up your music on streaming services, but charge a 15% commission (15% of everything you earn goes to AWAL). Also, they offer one of the best analytics report tools of all.

+ Possibilities to get your music on playlists

+ No additional fees

– Must be accepted to get in

Pricing: 15% commission

Btw, if you're mastering your own tracks for streaming services, make sure you know how to set the right loudness for your track.

Ditto

Ditto is a bit like Distrokid - you pay one price a year and you’re able to upload as many songs as you wish with no commission. The difference is that they seem to have better revenue and analytics reports + are a buck cheaper than Distrokid.

+ No commission

+ You can upload as many songs as you wish for one yearly price

+ Very good revenue and analytics reports

– No additional marketing help for artists who gain traction

Pricing: 19$ per year

LANDR

LANDR is a company which offers an automated mastering service. If you’re already their subscriber you can distribute your music to all streaming services for free. They also offer you possibilities to get your music on Spotify playlists which is very nice.

+ No commission

+ Possibilities to get your music on playlists

+ Free for LANDR Mastering subscribers

– Does not provide mechanisms for you to release a cover song

Pricing: $1/month ($12/year) minimum. $3/month ($36/year) gives you access to all streaming sercvices

Stem

Stem is one of the newer services here and seems to be a cheap service (5% commission) which gives you access to a direct representative to support you. You have to apply and get in though.

+You have a dedicated representative who you can communicate with

+ Possibilities to get your music on playlists

+No fees or up front costs for anything

– Invite-only

Pricing: 5% commission

Symphonic

Symphonic doesn’t charge you any commission but makes you pay $25 for signing up and their release prices start at $11. It’s a very simple service.

Put Songs On Spotify Free

+ No commission

Pricing: $25 'Sign-up fee' + Release fees staring from $11 for a 5 track album

CD Baby

CD Baby was one of the first ever services to let DIY musicians release their music in a physical format like CD or Vinyl and get it to record shops around the world. Nowadays they also let you release music on streaming services and you can do it all in one place.

+ It's a 'one stop shop' to get your music on streaming services as well as physically in stores (CD, Vinyl)

– No marketing help for artists who gain traction

Pricing: $5 per single, $20 per album + 9% commission

On Sight Free Nationals Spotify Sign Up

Reverbnation

Reverbnation is a service meant mostly for bands, but electronic producers can use it too. They offer you very nice packages - for 20 bucks a month you get access to their distrubition, mailing list tools and awesome opportunities. They also have very good revenue and analytics reports.

+ In a package you get distribution of 2 releases per year, a mailing list service and the ability to submit to opportunities such as TV placements, label submissions and festival slots

+ Very good data analytics, especially useful for demographics & venue finding

+ No commission

Is Spotify Free On Ipad

– Everything you release with them is branded with ReverbNation

– No professional help for bigger artists

Pricing: $9.95/month to get your music on streming services, $19.95/month for a full package

Freshtunes

Spotify Free Music App

Freshtunes is one of the newer services here. They claim to offer you everything for free (yes, no fees and no commission) with an option to get objective feedback from an expert for $25 a track. However you’re never too sure about how long is this kind of company going to last, so we would recommend going for one of the more “trusted” ones. If this service loses its investor it’s going to probably be closed. Another service like that is Amuse which claims to give you possibilities of signing you to a label with a 50/50 deal (if you “catch” after a few releases). Again, I would think twice before joining one of these investor funded services.

+No fees

+ No commission, except from China

+ Distribution to Chinese streaming services

+ Their experts will review your music for $25/song. It could be useful to get objective feedback

– No marketing help for artists who gain traction

Pricing: Free, $25 fee for feedback from an expert

Want to find a label instead of going DIY? Check out this article on finding a label in 16 steps.

About the Author: K-Pizza

Spotify Free Music Online

I’m a music maker who likes to share his experiences with other producers. I regularly show up with tutorials, articles & project files at PML.

Skype lessons with me: http://bit.ly/pml_s_one2one