How do I cite audio files?

How do I cite audio files?

Common elements to look for include:

• Name of the musician or performer

• Title 

• Other contributors - (examples include: composer, conductor, narrator, producer)

• Date   

• Name of the Web site or Project

• Publisher or sponsor

• URL

• Date of access (when you used the website)

Purdue Online Writing Lab 

How to cite audio files:     

The following is excerpted from the Purdue Online Writing Lab (and linked above)

Sound Recordings

A Song or Album

Music can be cited multiple ways. Mainly, this depends on the container that you accessed the music from. Generally, citations begin with the artist name. They might also be listed by composers or performers. Otherwise, list composer and performer information after the album title. Put individual song titles in quotation marks. Album names are italicized. Provide the name of the recording manufacturer followed by the publication date.

If information such as record label or name of album is unavailable from your source, do not list that information.

Spotify

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

Online Album

Beyoncé. “Pray You Catch Me.” Lemonade, Parkwood Entertainment, 2016, www.beyonce.com/album/lemonade-visual-album/.

CD

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

Podcasts

“Best of Not My Job Musicians.” Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! from NPR, 4 June 2016, http://www.npr.org/podcasts/344098539/wait-wait-don-t-tell-me.

Spoken-Word Albums such as Comedy Albums

Treat spoken-word albums the same as musical albums.

Hedberg, Mitch. Strategic Grill Locations. Comedy Central, 2003.

Digital Files (PDFs, MP3s, JPEGs)

Determine the type of work to cite (e.g., article, image, sound recording) and cite appropriately. End the entry with the name of the digital format (e.g., PDF, JPEG file, Microsoft Word file, MP3). If the work does not follow traditional parameters for citation, give the author’s name, the name of the work, the date of creation, and the location.

Beethoven, Ludwig van. Moonlight Sonata. Crownstar, 2006.

Smith, George. “Pax Americana: Strife in a Time of Peace.” 2005. Microsoft Word file.

Council of Writing Program Administrators, National Council of Teachers of English, and National Writing Project. Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing. CWPA, NCTE, and NWP, 2011, wpacouncil.org/files/framework-for-success-postsecondary-writing.pdf.

Bentley, Phyllis. “Yorkshire and the Novelist.” The Kenyon Review, vol. 30, no. 4, 1968, pp. 509-22. JSTOR, www.jstor.org.iii/stable/4334841.