John Self @john-self.bsky.social · 03/09/2026Blake Morrison on what it cost him (not his publisher) to include lines from pop lyrics in his 2007 novel South of the River. 3213944
Matthew Horton @matthewhorton.com · 04/09/2026I was roundly scolded by U2's publisher when I suggested quoting a line from Bullet The Blue Sky might be 'fair use'. It's lucky paraphrasing is such a fun writing challenge. 020
Juicy Cake of Figs וְאָֽהַבְתָּ֥ לְרֵעֲךָ֖ כָּמ֑וֹךָ @datadivajf.bsky.social · 04/09/2026Does anyone know how Ray Bradbury got permission to quote the entirety of Sara Teasdale's "There Will Come Soft Rains" in his eponymous short story. 000
Widdersbel @widdersbel.bsky.social · 03/09/2026It’s just as well Butter was such a big hit as Polly Barton must have spaffed whatever she made from translating it on the huge number of lyrics spread liberally throughout What Am I, A Deer? (and, come to think of it, how much did she have to pay Isabella Rossellini to use that title?) 140
Clair Woodward @clairywoowoo.bsky.social · 04/09/2026Surprised the Stones' one is relatively cheap, knowing how money-obsessed Jagger is. 020
Jonathan Coe @jonathancoe.bsky.social · 03/09/2026In my novel Bournville I wanted to quote eight words of a Robert Wyatt lyric ('How can I rise if you don't fall?'). Robert (of course) was fine with it but it was his former publishers we had to deal with. Eventually Penguin negotiated them down to £500 but their first quote was £4,450. 3398
missusvee.bsky.social @missusvee.bsky.social · 03/09/2026I like this anecdote. www.rte.ie/radio/radio1...rte.iePaul Howard and Bossman SpringsteenWell we know Bruce Springsteen is hardly doing it for the money these days. He’s estimated to be worth over a half a billion dollars. But Irish writer Paul Howard remembers a day when he had to put a ... 151
Terry Barnes @terryb72.bsky.social · 04/09/2026That probably explains why a couple of non-fiction books I've read recently about music have - seemingly strangely - not quoted any actual lyrics. Hinted at their strangeness, themes of alienation or expressions of love and desire, but no actual lyrics. 020
Lucy Fishwife 🥐 @lucyfishwife.bsky.social · 03/09/2026I had some but removed every single one (there was some Sondheim and that really hurt) but I emailed Kim Addonizio to ask if I could quote a line from one of her poems and she was an absolute goddess about it (fair use, no fee, stick an acknowledgement in, wished me luck ❤️) 2272
Juliet Mabey @jule9.bsky.social · 04/09/2026I’m afraid I advise my authors to refer to poems and songs rather than quote directly, where they can, to avoid hefty fees. 183
Richard Sherwood @rpjsherwood.bsky.social · 04/09/2026Listened to a dvd commentary in which the (enormous) cost of licensing single use of a certain track for a film was mentioned, prompting immediate and agonised cries of 'DON'T SING IT! DON'T SING IT!' from the director. 0112
Will Wiles @willwiles.bsky.social · 03/09/2026My erstwhile publisher asked permission to simply *name* a song in my first book, and was refused. A group famous for sampling! (However it was meant to be playing in a strip club, which might explain it, but still.) 331
Jock Serong @jockserong.bsky.social · 04/09/2026Just open an AI company and steal the lot. Simple. 000
The Maths Bazaar @themathsbazaar.bsky.social · 04/09/2026The classic is David Lodge having to change the the title of his first novel “The British Museum Has Lost Its Charm“ 160
Louise Tucker @louisehtucker.bsky.social · 04/09/2026Whenever I'm talking to debut writers, who often want to quote their favourite songs as chapter openers, I only have one word: 'don't'. 030
Marina Sofia @marinasofia.bsky.social · 03/09/2026Clearly this is not the case with books published in other languages. I was translating a book once and told the author all song lyrics quoted at the start of every chapter had to go! 140
Chris Addison @mrchrisaddison.bsky.social · 04/09/2026We once wanted to quote a lyric from a Sting song in an episode of Veep. Just one of our characters saying one line. We decided against it when the licensing (for lyrics and no music) came in at $48,000. That’s over ten years ago. 4488
Sinéad Gleeson @sineadgleeson.bsky.social · 04/09/2026It's insane. Mute Records wanted a lot money to quote from Into My Arms by Nick Cave (which was central to one of the essays in Constellations, so it had to be that line). I had interviewed him several times in the past and asked the PR to ask him. They got it down to 1/5th of the original price. 2111
Jonathan Gibbs @jonathangibbs.bsky.social · 04/09/2026My plan for current WIP is to use the following epigraph: "The epigraph to this novel is the first two lines of the second verse of 'Tower of Song' by Leonard Cohen. The fee quoted for using it is £[Whatever they quote]. If the book sells really well, it will be printed in later editions." 0231
Kurt Fillmore @kurtfillm.bsky.social · 07/09/2026So that's a rewrite for me. I'll have to change out a pop group's music for some public domain Sea shanty. 000
Jane Hill @janehill.bsky.social · 04/09/2026I wanted to quote song lyrics in my novels. What put me off even before we got to the fees was the discovery that it was my responsibility as a baby author to check for permissions and legality. So there are several occasions where characters paraphrase songs… 152
Phil Norman @mrphilnorman.bsky.social · 03/09/2026I wonder if there's a way to make these things fall under fair use/dealing. "'And after all,' sang Liam Gallagher from the car stereo, 'you're my wonderwall.' And I found myself thinking, what a shit line that was." 3235
JasonJawando @jasondj.bsky.social · 03/09/2026I remember reading that getting the clearance from George Michael tool the longest, but when he did agree he asked for the lowest fee. 0110
⚔️ Michael Whitney @michaelwhitney.bsky.social · 04/09/2026I kind of want to know what they charged the Ready Player One guy for his monstrosity 000
David Belbin @davidbelbin.bsky.social · 04/09/2026Neither Gershwin’s estate (4 lines) or R.E.M. (2) billed me when my first novel came out in 1990. But when I got successful and it was reissued with a new cover in ‘98, my new editor thought she’d better get permissions. My favourite band had a no quote rule. Ira’s lot wanted £325. So I paraphrased. 2166
nightjrrs.bsky.social @nightjrrs.bsky.social · 04/09/2026The only time I did it in a books of poems, I quoted New Model Army and asked Justin Sullivan if it was ok, along with my very low sales figures. He sent me a lovely note saying yes and that he liked my work. Nice. I thought. 050
Lisa Hill @anzlitlovers.bsky.social · 04/09/2026Not in the same league, but when I published Indonesian teaching materials to fit our national curriculum, I had to pay a copyright fee to include a note about which levels the materials supported. Not encouraging if they wanted teachers to develop resources! 000
Keiron Pim @keironpim.bsky.social · 03/09/2026I only recently quoted these very lines to the author of a lyric-filled manuscript I edited. Paraphrase or stick to public domain songs, it’s the only way. 160
Neglected Books @neglectedbooks.com · 03/09/2026The prices are insane and no sensible writer should ever quote a popular song—sadly. 1110
Cian McG @cianmcg.bsky.social · 04/09/2026My uncle opened his novel with a quote from a U2 song in '93. I believe they allowed him to use it for free. 131
Casmilus @casmilus.bsky.social · 03/09/2026If you quote Smiths lyrics do the fees go the original authors plagiarised by Morrissey? Shelagh Delaney could have bought a bungalow with what he owed her. 181
Sunny @sunnycogs.bsky.social · 04/09/2026I have a scene that would be hilarious with a few lines from the Macarena, & it's currently in the drafts as such.😆 The plan is to write in Spanish something like "This song is not the Macarena, please don't sue me it's not the Macarena." Somehow I doubt that will make it to the final draft. 000
