Thursday, April 30, 2009

How can I use song lyrics in art without copyright trouble?

I want to use some popular song lyrics in some of my art without infringing on copyright laws. Who do I contact? I have tried bmi.com, mpa.org, and other searches. Nada.

How can I use song lyrics in art without copyright trouble?
Please disregard answers regarding referencing as they're incorrect. Simply giving credit does not permit someone to reproduce copyrighted material. If that were the case then there would be nothing to stop you or me releasing the latest Harry Potter book and adding 'words by J K Rowling'.





If the song is copyrighted (and it almost certainly will be) then you need to obtain permission from the copyright holder and get a broadcast or performance license. I think you'll find that this is prohibitively expensive, you're talking several thousand dollars.





As for who to contact - follow the previous answer.
Reply:all you need to do is reference it somewhere- preferably in tiny letters at the botton corner of ypur art.


eg. lyrics from "blah blha" by "yada yada brothers"
Reply:The easiest thing to do is contact the publisher. If you look at the CD, album, etc, you will see, beneath the song title, and the name of the songwriter, the name of a company. You can probably find the contact information for this company on the internet. In fact, it is the job of this publisher to make arrangements of the type of seek to make. Let me warn you though, if it is a major artist (songwriter), they will likely not agree to license your use of the lyrics.
Reply:The other person is right about referencing, but the situation changes if you profit financially from the work. In that instance there would be a case for you owing royalties.

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