Music Citation Guide (Chicago Style)

As you scroll, you'll find footnote and bibliography entry templates and examples of citations for real sources for the following types of videos:

• Streaming video: Subscription Platforms (Met Opera on Demand, Netflix, etc.)
• Streaming video: YouTube
• Physical video: DVD

• Formatting citations for recordings can involve making a lot of decisions - is the director, the conductor, or the performer(s) more important to your argument? You can choose to list whichever person (performer, composer, conductor, performing ensemble, etc.) that's the most relevant to your argument as the "author" of the recording.
   
• Sometimes it’s not clear who the “publisher” or distributor of a film is.
   
• Always include the format (streaming video, DVD, VHS etc.) of the recording you're citing in your footnotes and bibliography entries.
   
• Unlike citations for print items like books and scores, recordings may not include information about the city of publication; if you don't find one, you can leave this out.
   
• Include as much information as you can to be sure your reader can identify the item you’re citing, and be consistent.
   

• If you have questions or need help, email Jessica Abbazio, Music Librarian, at jabbazio@umn.edu!

Footnote template:

1. Artist First Name Last Name/Group Name, Title of Video, dir. Director First Name Last Name, Production Company Name, Year of Publication, streaming video, starting and ending timestamp of the section you’re citing, accessed Month Day, Year, Name of Database.
 

Example of a real footnote:

1. Ravi Shankar, Between Two Worlds, dir. Mark Kidel, Opus Arte, 1996, streaming video, 1:08-2:50, accessed December 11, 2020, Classical Music in Video.

Bibliography entry template:

Example of a real bibliography entry:

Tips for citing YouTube videos:

• It can be unclear who created content that’s been posted on YouTube, so the key is to give your reader as much detail as you can about the item itself (which might include doing additional research)

• Once you’ve listed all the information you can about the item, fill in the details that will help people access it on YouTube. Especially important is the URL, and you can access a shortened version of this link by clicking the "Share" button under the video player:
  
  
   

• The details of your citation will vary depending on the type of source, and the same pieces of information might not be available for every type of video so ask for help if you need it!

Footnote template:

1. Author First Name Last Name, “Title,” YouTube video, starting and ending timestamp of the section you’re citing, https://youtu.be/XXXXXXXXXX.
 

Example of a real footnote:

1. Jimi Hendrix, “Little Wing (Live),” YouTube video, 3:52, https://youtu.be/0YDBdoWK2qU.

7. Green Day, “iHeartRadio Album Release Party w/ Green Day,” streamed live on February 7, 2020, YouTube video, 1:28:42-1:30:06, https://youtu.be/hhY-7wtIICY.

Bibliography entry template:

Example of a real bibliography entry:

Notes:

• For sources that include a lot of performers, you can replace multiple names with "et al." - this means “and others.” Using "et al." to replace multiple names is a way to make sure the list doesn’t get too long and make your citation incomprehensible!

Footnote template:

2. Composer/Director/Main Type of Contributor First Name Last Name, Title, Other Contributors’ First Names Last Names (City of Publication if Listed on Item: Name of Publisher/Production Company, Year of Publication), Format of Film, Number of min.
 

Example of a real footnote:

2. Giacomo Puccini, Madama Butterfly, conducted by Herbert von Karajan, directed by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, performed by Mirella Freni, Plácido Domingo, Christa Ludwig, Robert Kerns, Michel Sénéchal, Giorgio Stendoro, Marius Rintzler, Elke Schary, et al. (Hamburg: Deutsche Grammophon, 2005), DVD, 145 min.

Bibliography entry template:

Example of a real bibliography entry: