Fictional Song Lyrics: What Writers Need to Know

Authors sometimes find it very tempting to use song lyrics in a novel or story. The words of the song are so powerful and so right that… well, they have to be there.

If you’re considering using song lyrics in your fictional work, you may want to come up with a backup plan. Here are some things you should know:

• you or your publisher may or may not obtain the rights to use the lyrics
• it will probably cost you (usually a small fee per copy you make, but that can add up)
• your editor may decide that the letters are not worth the time/effort/money required to use them.

What about ‘fair use’?

Fair use principles were not established to cover fiction.

You could claim fair use if you were writing, say, a nonfiction piece that looks at the cultural changes in the US over the past fifty years through the lens of the top 10 letters. To write such a work, you would clearly need to reference some letters. But if you were to try to get permission and pay for each song, those barriers would jeopardize your ability to produce the work. Fair use would allow you to quote a few lines from each song to help make your point when presenting your analysis.

Putting lyrics in your fiction is something else entirely.

You’ll read a lot of pages online that talk about letterpress printing as ‘fair use’ etc, but that’s a part of the fair use doctrine and completely unreliable when it comes to novels and other works of fiction.

What is the worst that can happen?

I’m not a lawyer. Personally, I think the worst that would probably happen is someone seeing you use the lyrics and suing you to make you pay. You would have to pay usage fees, plus perhaps some punitive damages and court fees. All of that could add up to a lot more than it would have cost to get the rights in the first place.

Also, I think rights holders’ lawyers’ time would be better spent looking for websites that post lyrics and musical arrangements in their entirety.

However, if you have a blockbuster on your hands and make millions, you will be placing yourself in a completely different class of rights violators.

Shouldn’t the artist or composer be happy that I love their work enough to include it?

Don’t take it personally; they are business. Artists, unless they wrote their own songs or bought the rights, don’t actually have the right to the lyrics. The composer does unless he has sold them all. But the person you need to worry about the most in this equation is usually a music publisher. That company probably paid money for the rights to control the publication of those lyrics you want. It is highly unlikely that they will get warm fuzzies because you want to use lettering under your control. Even if they do, they have to pay people (like the composer) for that use.

Simply put: lyrics are copyrighted. They are worth the money.

But isn’t this like free publicity for them?

In a way… maybe… if your story makes a lot of people rush to buy the sheet music. But that is not likely. At best, it could get readers to buy the song. That is covered by completely different rights: performance and recording rights, etc. Someone, somewhere, might be pleased. Depending on how things are set up, some of that money might even find its way to the music publisher. However, that prospect isn’t likely to make that company let you use the lyrics for free.

So how much does it cost?

Basically, in order to use the song, you will need to enter into a contract with the rights holder. That company will tell you how much you want for the use you’ve described. Many factors go into cost, including which part of the song you intend to use. If you’re only using a line or two, you may only be looking at a few cents per copy you make. Or it could be much higher. There are usually different fee schedules for online use of hard copies. You won’t really be able to gauge the potential cost until you ask.

If all you want is a few lines of a single song, it’s probably affordable. If you want to start each of the thirty chapters with a line from a song, your cost and hassle will be multiplied. You’re going to have to pay for each of those lines. Getting permission may mean going to not one, but several different companies.

How do I start?

Basically, you start the process by writing to the entity that manages the rights.

If you’re an author looking for a traditional publisher, it won’t do you much good to ask early. However, if you plan to disseminate copies of the work while it is on the way to publication, it is safest to ask the rights holder for permission. Often the company is willing to let you use the lyrics in this way for free. For example, I was able to get permission to use letter sets in online writing workshops for free because I didn’t make money from the work and because only a few hundred people would visit the place where it was published.

If you don’t intend to share the work with others before publication, it’s best to wait until you’re a little closer to publication to ask for permission. When considering your rights request, the company will want to know how many copies will be published and in what format, as well as other things you can’t tell them. You and your publisher can decide how to handle the request, if your publisher is willing to address the issue. Some small publishers simply don’t have the resources to handle the usage requests and the required follow-up. Your editor may simply tell you to remove the lyrics.

If you’re going the self-publishing route (hard copy or ebook) then you should be in a position to give the rights holder the details they want.

How do I apply for permission?

Usually, you write to the music publisher. Try googling the name of the song and the term “sheet music.” There are many places that sell sheet music online for just a few dollars and you can download it right away. I often find the answers I need for this on sheetmusicplus.

Check the song details to make sure you have the right one. Sometimes the same song will end up in different arrangements, released by different companies. And sometimes multiple songs will share a title.

The sheet music will reveal the publisher’s information and address, and in some cases even indicate where to go for additional permissions. If not, the publisher’s website probably will.

If you can’t determine the music publisher, you can find some tracks by checking the songs in the databases of the entities that handle performing rights: ASCAP; BMI; and SESAC.

Once you get the music publisher’s contact information, you can write to the company (some even have online forms) and tell them what you want done and what lyrics you want to use. Be sure to tell them that what you want is a *printed license*. Most publishers have guidelines on their sites about what to expect in a license application. After that, they will probably reply to you and/or send you a contract proposal with their terms. It will probably include a lot of detail that doesn’t make sense to you unless you’re a lawyer; if not, you may want to talk to one about that contract so you understand what you are signing.

By the way, there are companies online that make all of this easier, if you’re willing to pay them to do it for you. They’ll track the information, handle the paperwork, etc., but most of the authors I’ve talked to don’t think these companies are worth what you’d pay.

What are my alternatives?

Get rid of poetry.

Write your own poem.

Find a poet or songwriter who is struggling to make a name for himself; he might be willing to let you use his material for free, if you give him proper credit.

If it really has to be that song, consider just giving its title (in double quotes) and not using the lyrics. Because only so many words can be used, song titles cannot be copyrighted, except under very strict conditions where they can be treated as entities on their own, such as if the song title comprises a complete line of the song or if it’s a made up word that the writer himself created or something like that. Usually, it’s not so much copyright as trademark protection that comes into play here. But that’s a really rare situation, and so for general use, song titles are considered fair game, sort of like book titles. Still, the safest thing to do is to double check (either on the web or by contacting the lyric rights holder) to make sure your song name isn’t one of the few exceptions.

If you are just posting your writing on the web, without charging for it, then you have another option. Include the name of the song and a link to the song on a music sharing site. Personally, I like IMEEM because it is reported that they have contracts with the major labels so that all the appropriate people get paid when the songs are played. Also, the player has a link that your reader can follow to buy the song, so this is really a way of giving free publicity to the song you love.

Imeem is free and very easy to use. A song page gives you a code that you can place on your blog or web page to play the music. Some of them are limited to a 30-second playback, but that’s usually enough to convey the gist of the music, remind the reader of the song, etc., and if the reader wants to hear everything, they can always follow the Link to Imeem.

A word of caution: I have only searched IMEEM for non-commercial use. I guess they have different rules when it comes to jobs you’re actually getting paid for. If your readers have to pay to access your work, you’ll need to contact IMEEM to find out if their use falls within the terms of their license.

¿Where can i get more information?

Take a look at the links at the end of this article.