There are currently only three performing rights organizations recognized by the U.S. Copyright Office: ACSAP, BMI, and SESAC. (I have included links to each search engine at the end of this article.) These companies administer the rights to the use of musicians’ music and lyrics. If you plan to use lyrics in something you write, particularly if you mean to use them in a thematic way, I strongly advise you to contact the appropriate administrator and get permission in advance. Without the permission, your entire work might have to be rewritten. An example of this occurred when Cate Swannell, author of Heart’s Passage, originally titled her novel King of the Beach. In her novel, she referred to Chris Rea’s song of the same name, and she used his lyrics as an epigraph. After Swannell was offered a publishing contract, she attempted to obtain permission to use the lyrics. It turned out that Chris Rea doesn’t use a music administrator, and after many unsuccessful attempts to reach him, Swannell gave up and had to take out the references to the song. Without the thematic underpinnings of the "King of the Beach" song, there was no use keeping the title the same, so she renamed the book.

Cate Swannell did not have to rename her book; titles (unless trademarked) are not copyrighted. But she chose to change it in keeping with the significant difference the lack of the song made. You can avoid similar difficulties by securing proper permissions in advance.

To date, I have used lyrics from four musicians in my novels. The music of Melissa Etheridge and Shawn Colvin is administered by ASCAP and BMI respectively, and I was required to pay a small fee for the use. The music of local artists Ann Reed and Kristen Schuldt, on the other hand, is administered by them, personally, and they allowed me to use their lyrics without paying a fee because I argued that readers unfamiliar with their music would be introduced to their songs which would benefit them.

One more comment about music: there is a great deal of it in the public domain, meaning that no one owns the copyright any longer. "I Love You Truly," "A Tisket, A Tasket," "Yankee Doodle," "Abide With Me" – all of these and thousands more old tunes are free to use as you wish. It’s always nice to acknowledge the composer, but it isn’t required. (I’ve included an online public domain site at the conclusion of the article.)

So how long is copyright good? The U.S. Copyright Office indicates that for work created on or after January 1, 1978, the rule of thumb is the author’s life plus an additional 70 years after the author’s death. For works written before 1978, there are some complicated details, but it all boils down to no more than 75 years. So the copyright for "Abide With Me," for instance, which was written in 1861 with music by W.H. Monk and words by H.F. Lytle, long ago moved into the public domain. You can use it all you want, in part or in its entirety.

Final Comments