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MLA Style Guide, 8th ed.

This guide provides tips and examples for MLA style formatting of papers and citations.

Music and Podcasts

CD or Album

Examples

Bach, Johann Sebastian. Art of Fugue, performance by Emerson String Quartet, Deutsche Grammophon, 2003.

Nirvana. Nevermind, Geffen, 1991.

Taylor, James. Greatest Hits, Rhino, 2004.


Specific Song on CD or Album

Examples

Nirvana. "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Nevermind, Geffen, 1991.

Taylor, James. “Carolina in My Mind.” Greatest Hits, Rhino, 2004.


Music Found on Website

Examples

Beyoncé. Lemonade, Parkwood Entertainment, 2016, www.beyonce.com/album/lemonade-visual-album/?media_view=songs. Accessed 22 Sept. 2016.

Morris, Rae. “Skin.” Cold, Atlantic Records, 2014, Spotify, open.spotify.com/track/0OPES3Tw5r86O6fudK8gxi. Accessed 19 Sept. 2016.


Live Performance

If the source is an unexpected type of work, you may identify the type with a descriptive term at the end of the citation. The following examples use this optional element.

Examples

McCartney, Paul. One on One Tour, 4 Oct. 2016, Golden 1 Center, Sacramento. Concert.

Paisley, Brad. Country Nation College Tour, 10 Oct. 2015, Wake Forest U, Winston-Salem. Concert.


Musical Score

If the source is an unexpected type of work, you may identify the type with a descriptive term at the end of the citation. The following examples use this optional element.

Examples

Chopin, Frédéric. Complete Ballades, Impromtus and Sonatas, Dover Music Publications, 1 Sept. 1981. Musical Score.

Vivaldi, Antonio. Concerto in D, adapted for guitar solo by Charlie Byrd, Columbia Music, 1970. Musical Score.


Podcast

If the website name where you accessed the podcast is essentially the same as the publisher, there is no need to list it twice.

Examples

"The First Presidential Debate." NPR Politics Podcast, 27 Sept. 2016, National Public Radio, www.npr.org/podcasts/510310/npr-politics-podcast. Accessed 28 Sept. 2016.

"The Problem We All Live With." This American Life, performance by Nikole Hannah-Jones, 31 July 2015, tal.fm/562. Accessed 14 Sept. 2016.