Writer Had To Pay Over £4000 for Using Song Lyrics in Book!
“Next time I need songs, I’ll make them up myself!” he says
£4,401.75. That’s how much it cost Blake Morrison to use a song lyrics collection in his novel. He split the fee with the publisher. £2200 each. Ouch.
He discovered the cost of using lyrics in a book while he was writing his novel, South of the River. There’s a disco scene at the end of the book in which he quotes some song lyrics. “I’d restricted myself to just a line or two from a handful of songs and vaguely hoped that was OK or that no one would notice,” he told the Guardian Newspaper.
His editor, however, wasn’t so relaxed about it and decided to seek permission to reproduce the lyrics from the music companies.
“I still have the invoices,” said Morrison. He’d used a single line from each of the following songs, and the grand total of the bill was over £4000.
- Jumpin’ Jack Flash — £500
- Wonderwall — £535
- When I’m Sixty-four — £735
- I Shot the Sheriff — £1000
- Fastlove — less than £200
- You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feelin — £300
- Plus, some other songs.
Morrison concedes that the music industry needs to make money however it can, with music piracy at an all-time high, but it’s still shocking. And that is a lesson in why you should never use song lyrics in your writing.
Of course, those are the costs for using song lyrics when you’ve got permission. Imagine the costs you might incur through the courts if you publish song lyrics without permission!
There doesn’t seem to be much leeway when quoting song lyrics in a book — any amount is considered substantial. Morrison continues, “Quoting six words and five syllables from “You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feelin’” cost me £300… It pained me to fork out £1,000 for 11 words of “I Shot the Sheriff” — that’s more than £90 a word… Next time I need songs I’ll make them up myself.”
So, avoid using song lyrics unless money is no object to you. Even if you’re rich or reckless, getting permission is a good idea.
What about terms in common use?
There are occasions when lyrics reflect common usage. If a phrase is commonly used, the music companies cannot claim to own the rights to that phrase, even if they’ve used it in a song. ‘Life goes on, for example, is in common use. ‘I don’t know’ is also in common usage.
It’s possible that if the phrase is clearly related to the artist’s song in your story, the music company might take issue with it, but I’m no lawyer. If in doubt, you should always seek legal advice.
Is there ever fair use?
Suppose you’re commenting on the song for the purpose of review or education. In that case, Helen Sedwick writing for Ingram Spark, says, “if you use lyrics from Bob Dylan and Eminem to compare their treatment of women, that is probably fair use. But using the same lyrics in a novel to evoke a setting is not fair use and could be infringement.”
However, Sedgewick adds, “Fair use is a defense. If you are sued, you would have the burden of proving fair use. And the court cases are not entirely consistent. The safest course is to get permission from the copyright owner. Even if you are well within safe lines, the copyright owner might sue you anyway.”
The Society of Authors has a legal team that can advise members about legal issues, including contracts and copyright. The National Union of Journalists may also be able to help members with legal queries.
Exceptions and permissions
Exceptions to the copyright rules are songs that are out of copyright or in the public domain, but be sure to check the copyright status of a song because most songs are copyrighted. Then it might be preferable to avoid using the lyrics altogether.
Song titles
If you want to use the title of a song, that’s not usually copyrightable. However, Writers’ Digest advises against using a title that’s closely associated with a band. Their legal expert, Amy Cook, says, “If you used a really famous song title or part of a song as a title — say, ‘Yellow Submarine’ — that’s so closely tied to a specific group (or artists), then you’d probably get a letter from their lawyers.”
Getting permission
Suppose you want to pursue getting permission to use lyrics. In that case, you should contact the copyright owner, who you can find either by contacting the music publisher directly or by using a resource such as www.copyright.gov, which includes all copyrighted works going back to 1978. Music industry bodies may also be able to help.
Copyright law can be a murky area because interpretations of ‘fair use’ are variable, and often they end up being thrashed out in court. There’s a thin line between fair use and copyright infringement.
Song lyrics are a particularly tricky one. I, for one, won’t be using them at all!
Want to learn more? Please find out more about the copyright law relating to lyrics and how to get permission to use them legally here…
