diff --git a/apis_bibsonomy/forms.py b/apis_bibsonomy/forms.py
index 48fd5c7..3c39085 100644
--- a/apis_bibsonomy/forms.py
+++ b/apis_bibsonomy/forms.py
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
         self.helper = FormHelper(self)
         if "instance" in kwargs:
             self.fields["bibs_url"].widget.choices = [
-                (self.initial.get("bibs_url"), self.instance.bibtexjson.get("title"))
+                (self.initial.get("bibs_url"), self.instance.bibtex.get("title"))
             ]
         self.helper.layout = Layout(
             Row(
diff --git a/apis_bibsonomy/migrations/0004_alter_reference_bibtex.py b/apis_bibsonomy/migrations/0004_alter_reference_bibtex.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8c970fa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apis_bibsonomy/migrations/0004_alter_reference_bibtex.py
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+# Generated by Django 5.1.1 on 2024-09-23 09:49
+
+from django.db import migrations, models
+
+
+class Migration(migrations.Migration):
+    dependencies = [
+        ("apis_bibsonomy", "0003_auto_20230202_0953"),
+    ]
+
+    operations = [
+        migrations.AlterField(
+            model_name="reference",
+            name="bibtex",
+            field=models.JSONField(blank=True, null=True),
+        ),
+    ]
diff --git a/apis_bibsonomy/models.py b/apis_bibsonomy/models.py
index f7d0ea2..494d510 100644
--- a/apis_bibsonomy/models.py
+++ b/apis_bibsonomy/models.py
@@ -5,8 +5,6 @@
 from django.db.models import Q
 from .utils import get_bibtex_from_url
 
-import json
-
 
 class Reference(models.Model):
     """Model that holds the reference to a bibsonomy entry"""
@@ -14,7 +12,7 @@ class Reference(models.Model):
     bibs_url = models.URLField()
     pages_start = models.PositiveIntegerField(blank=True, null=True)
     pages_end = models.PositiveIntegerField(blank=True, null=True)
-    bibtex = models.TextField(blank=True, null=True)
+    bibtex = models.JSONField(blank=True, null=True)
     content_type = models.ForeignKey(ContentType, on_delete=models.CASCADE)
     object_id = models.PositiveIntegerField()
     attribute = models.CharField(blank=True, null=True, max_length=255)
@@ -30,15 +28,11 @@ class Reference(models.Model):
     )
 
     def __str__(self):
-        title = self.bibtexjson.get("title")
+        title = self.bibtex.get("title")
         desc = [title, self.pages_start, self.pages_end, self.folio, self.notes]
         desc = ", ".join(map(str, filter(None, desc)))
         return desc
 
-    @property
-    def bibtexjson(self):
-        return json.loads(self.bibtex or "{}")
-
     def get_absolute_url(self):
         return reverse("apis_bibsonomy:referencedetail", kwargs={"pk": self.pk})
 
diff --git a/apis_bibsonomy/templates/apis_bibsonomy/reference_detail.html b/apis_bibsonomy/templates/apis_bibsonomy/reference_detail.html
index 0d98d65..ca48d1c 100644
--- a/apis_bibsonomy/templates/apis_bibsonomy/reference_detail.html
+++ b/apis_bibsonomy/templates/apis_bibsonomy/reference_detail.html
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ <h1>{{ reference }}</h1>
 </div>
 <details>
 	<summary>bibtex</summary>
-	<p>{{ reference.bibtexjson }}</p>
+	<p>{{ reference.bibtex }}</p>
 </details>
 
 <hr/>
diff --git a/apis_bibsonomy/views.py b/apis_bibsonomy/views.py
index 1c9e6ed..cce77a3 100644
--- a/apis_bibsonomy/views.py
+++ b/apis_bibsonomy/views.py
@@ -81,9 +81,7 @@ def form_valid(self, form):
         )
         args["object_id"] = self.request.resolver_match.kwargs["pk"]
         ref = Reference.objects.create(**args)
-        self.request.session["last_bibsonomy_reference_title"] = ref.bibtexjson.get(
-            "title"
-        )
+        self.request.session["last_bibsonomy_reference_title"] = ref.bibtex.get("title")
         return super().form_valid(form)