How to cite a song in APA 7

In APA the author of a song is normally the recording artist (a person or a group), not the songwriter.

Reference list format

Artist. (Year). Title of the song in sentence case [Song]. On Title of the album in sentence case. Record Label.

Harbor Lights & Okafor, T. (2022). Slow tide [Song]. On Evening ferries. Northern Frame Records; Westbrook Music.

• Artist. The performer or group, spelled as it appears on the recording. When two artists are credited, join them with an ampersand, as in the example.
• Year. The year the song was released.
• Song title. Sentence case, not italic.
• Description. [Song] in square brackets.
• Album. After the word “On,” the album title in italics and sentence case. If the song has no album, leave out the “On” part.
• Label. The name of the record label. Separate several labels with semicolons.
• Remix. Put “Remix” in parentheses after the title and before the bracket.

A whole album

Use the recording artist as the author, then the album title in italics and sentence case, then [Album] in square brackets and the label.

Classical works

For a classical piece, the composer is the author. Put the performers in the bracket, for example [Song recorded by the Westbrook Orchestra], and give the original year at the end: (Original work published 1804).

In-text citation

Use the artist and the year: (Harbor Lights & Okafor, 2022). For a classical work, APA gives both years with a slash, the earlier first: (Beethoven, 1804/2012).

Check before you submit

• Use the recording you played. You don’t need the song’s history.