A reminder: Stories that incorporate published, copyrighted song lyrics that are not your own can't be accepted by the Contest--nor by any other market that doesn't want to get sued. A single quoted line constitutes a significant portion of a song.
Titles can't be copyrighted. But a title may also be a lyric, so use caution.
http://nineandsixtyways.com/
Tools, Not Rules.
Martin L. Shoemaker
3rd Place Q1 V31
"Today I Am Paul", WSFA Small Press Award 2015, Nebula nomination 2015
Today I Am Carey from Baen
The Last Dance (#1 science fiction eBook on Amazon, October 2019) and The Last Campaign from 47North
Ain't that a shame.
.......ok, I'll get my coat.
R:6 RWC:1 HM:9 SHM:3
My Blog
Small Gods and Little Demons - Parsec Issue #10
.......ok, I'll get my coat.
Take care - 'I'll get my coat' is the name of a song by Buster Shuffle.
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Be careful-"Take Care" is a song by Drake.
Aaagh! All phrases have been bagged by songwriters! I recall a pop star in an interview talk about a phrase he read in a book - 'I'm having that' - he said (in a Mancunian accent). How come it only works one way?
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Song titles are okay!
VOL 40 2nd Quarter: Third Place ("Ashes to Ashes, Blood to Carbonfiber")
Past submissions: R - HM - HM - HM - HM - HM - SHM - SHM
www.jd-writes.com
Kindle Vella - Ashes to Ashes, Earth to Kaybee
Aaagh! All phrases have been bagged by songwriters! I recall a pop star in an interview talk about a phrase he read in a book - 'I'm having that' - he said (in a Mancunian accent). How come it only works one way?
It's the relative portion that trips you up. Assume a simple song: Verse-chorus-verse-chorus-chorus. Assume 8 lines per verse and 6 lines per chorus. (NOOTA: Numbers Out Of Thin Air.) Then the song is 34 lines. One single line quoted is around 3% of the song--or if it's a line from the chorus, around 9%. Those are the quantitative significance. Then there's qualitative: the very fact that you want to quote it means it's a significant part of the song, something memorable. So a single line may be the theme of the song, or the part listeners remember.
Conversely, if your story is 10,000 words, 3% of that would be 300 words--more than a manuscript page. Suppose someone turned the verbatim climax page of your manuscript into a song! Actually, that might be kinda cool, but talk about your spoilers!
Arguably you could claim Fair Use. And who knows? You might get away with it. But only might. And you and the publisher would have to defend it in court. That's too much risk for them. They'll pick a different story without the risk.
http://nineandsixtyways.com/
Tools, Not Rules.
Martin L. Shoemaker
3rd Place Q1 V31
"Today I Am Paul", WSFA Small Press Award 2015, Nebula nomination 2015
Today I Am Carey from Baen
The Last Dance (#1 science fiction eBook on Amazon, October 2019) and The Last Campaign from 47North
Song titles are okay!
Legally, yes, but remember that in the USA, practically anyone can sue practically anyone for practically any reason. Jerks can abuse the system. Kevin J. Anderson spoke about notifying a musician as a courtesy that he would use a song title as a short story title in an anthology. (The entire point of the anthology was stories based on song titles.) The musician's lawyer responded with threats to sue Kevin out of existence. Kevin said screw it and found a different song to promote.
I wouldn't hesitate to use a title (if it's not also a lyric), but be aware that there are jerks out there.
http://nineandsixtyways.com/
Tools, Not Rules.
Martin L. Shoemaker
3rd Place Q1 V31
"Today I Am Paul", WSFA Small Press Award 2015, Nebula nomination 2015
Today I Am Carey from Baen
The Last Dance (#1 science fiction eBook on Amazon, October 2019) and The Last Campaign from 47North
Suppose someone turned the verbatim climax page of your manuscript into a song! Actually, that might be kinda cool, but talk about your spoilers!
A summary of a story in a song, would be cool as a song. I suppose epic poems are like that, without the sing-songy part. Either way, interesting idea.
"Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right."~ Henry Ford
V42: WIP
V41: RWC (Resubmitted "HM"), HM, RWC, Finalist (Resubmitted "RWC")
V40: HM, HM, R, HM
V39: SHM, HM, Semi-finalist, HM (Resubmitted "HM")
V38: ---HM (Resubmitted "R")
V37: -R--
