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How to Cite References Using Chicago Style/Turabian

Chicago Style 17th Edition Examples - Sound Recordings

The citation for recordings and other multimedia content include some or all of the following:

  • The name of the composer, writer, performer, or other person primarily responsible for the content.
  • The title of the work (in italics or quotation marks, as applicable)
  • Information about the work (names of additional contributors, and date and location of the recording, production or performance)
  • Information about the publisher, including date of publication.
  • Information about the medium or format (e.g., LP, DVD, MP3, AVI, etc). Supplementary information (such as the number of discs in an album and duration of recording) may also be given.
  • Any additional information that might be relevant.
  • A URL for sources consulted online

The order of these elements and which ones are included depend on the nature of the source, whether a part or the whole is cited, and whether a particular contributor is the focus of the citation. (Chicago Manual of Style, fig. 14.261) 

 

​Listed below are examples of proper formatting of bibliographic references (B) and a corresponding footnote/endnote (N) for each source type.

 

  • Orchestral performance on a CD

B:   Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus. Don Giovanni. Orchestra and Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Sir Colin Davis. With Ingvar Wixell, Luigi Roni, Martina Arroyo, Stuart Burrows, Kiri Te Kanawa, et al. Recorded May 1973. Philips 422541-2, 1991, 3 compact discs.

N:   1. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Don Giovanni, Orchestra and Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, with Ingvar Wixell, Luigi Roni, Martina Arroyo, Stuart Burrows, Kiri Te Kanawa, et al., conducted by Sir Colin Davis, recorded May 1973, Philips 422541-2, 1991, 3 compact discs.

  • Single Track from an Album (CD/MP3)

B:   Rihanna. Good Girl Gone Bad. MP3 audio, Island Def Jam, 2007.

N:   2. "Umbrella," featuring Jay-Z, MP3 audio, track 1 on Rihanna, Good Girl Gone Bad, Island Def Jam, 2007. 

  • Single Track from an Album (Spotify)

B:   Rihanna. Good Girl Gone Bad. Spotify, Island Def Jam, 2007.

N:   2. "Umbrella," featuring Jay-Z, Spotify, track 1 on Rihanna, Good Girl Gone Bad, Island Def Jam, 2007. 

  • LP Record (typically include acquisition numbers following the name of the publisher with no comma)

B:  Holiday, Billie, vocalist. Lady in Satin. With Ray Ellis. Recorded February 20, 1958. Columbia CL 1157, 331/3 rpm.

N:   3. Billie Holiday, vocalist, "I'm a Fool to Want You," by Joel Herron, Frank Sinatra, and Jack Wolf, recorded February 20, 1958, with Ray Ellis, track 1 on Lady in Satin, Columbia CL 1157, 331/3 rpm.

  • Audiobook

B:   Strayed, Cheryl. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail. Read by Bernadette Dunne. New York: Random House Audio, 2012. Audible audio ed., 13 hr., 6 min.

N:   4. Cheryl Strayed, Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, read by Bernadette Dunne (New York:Random House Audio, 2012), Audible audio ed., 13 hr., 6 min.​

More on citing Sound Recordings:

  • Musical recordings are usually listed in a separate discography (Chicago Manual of Style, fig. 14.12). If included in a bibliography, they are best grouped under an appropriate subhead (fig. 14.63).
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