Advice On Using Song Lyrics In A Novel? by Threetails

I was just wondering if anyone could offer advice on exactly how much of a set of song lyrics you can reproduce in a novel without incurring royalties.

I'm particularly curious about the following instances:

*When a single sentence or phrase is reproduced
*When a partial verse (or refrain) is reproduced
*When a whole verse (or refrain) is reproduced

I'm fairly sure that references to a particular song are copyright safe; I just don't know where the law typically draws the line between a reference and an unauthorized reproduction.

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Advice On Using Song Lyrics In A Novel?

Threetails

May 14, 2014 at 07:04:12 UTC

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Felthry on May 14, 2014 at 20:38:56 UTC

http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/can-you-include-song-lyrics-in-your-book_b79478 Looks like basically the title is all you can legally get away with. Including one line might not get you in trouble, but as that page says, consider not using song lyrics. Or write your own song! Doesn't need a tune, even, since it's just in text.
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  Felthry on May 14, 2014 at 20:40:51 UTC
  
  http://www.writing-world.com/rights/fair.shtml might be worth a look as well, but fair use laws are complicated and often boils down to whether the judge thinks it's fair.