Estate Permissions
At some point during the writing of Ordinary Days I got a really cool idea—an anchor inspiration. Anchor inspiration is what I call a nugget or thread of information that ties everything else together. In this case, while listening for the millionth time to the first sounds of the first track of Prince’s first album For You, I was struck by the prophetic lyrics. These 20 words would be the perfect epigraph! All I had to do was get permission to use them.
Using someone else’s words in a book requires permission. When writing Black Is a Rainbow Color I applied for, received, and paid for the use of a quote by Dr. Martin Luther King, jr. I assumed that the use of someone else’s song lyrics would require the same Copyright clearance. The Chicago Writer’s Association has a great article on this (link here), but here’s an excerpt:
If you want to print the lyrics of a popular song in your book to set a mood, have a character sing along with the radio, or use as a lead-in to your chapters, you need permission from the copyright owner. The writers and publishers of the lyrics you want to quote are entitled, by law, to:
Flat-out deny you the right to quote the lyrics.
Grant you permission, set the terms, and ask you to pay whatever fee they’d like.
Not respond to your inquiry and leave you wondering why songwriters are so damned difficult.
Guess which response I received?
It took a year, but by the time I got the email below, we’d ditched the quote to keep the project moving. In lieu of the epigraph, here is a link to what would have been page one.
AJ
Re: #1562978 - Lyric Usage - Ordinary Days
Inbox
(Hal Leonard Permissions) <support@permissions.zendesk.com>
Thu, Aug 31, 2023 4:35 AM
to me
##- Please type your reply above this line -##
This ticket (1562978) has been updated.
On this ticket:
Angela Joy,
----------------------------------------------------
Representative (Hal Leonard Permissions)
Aug 31, 2023, 6:35 AM CDT
Dear Angela,
We apologise for our delayed response regarding this request.
Your request has been out for approval with the rightsholders for several months now, with no response.
Prince approvals are notoriously difficult.
Therefore, we must assume that your request has been denied. Thank you for your efforts to secure the appropriate permissions.
All best wishes,
N.
Licensing & Copyright Administrator
Hal Leonard Europe Limited
www.halleonardeurope.com
APPLICATION SUBMISSION
Angela Joy
Aug 15, 2022, 3:29 PM CDT
Request Details
Name of Licensee: Angela Joy
Title of Publication: Ordinary Days
Author: Angela Joy
Publisher: Macmillan/Roaring Brook Press
Publication Date: September, 2023
Format: Hard cover
Publication Description: Ordinary Days is a picture book exploration of the childhood and early musical influences of Prince Rogers Nelson
Distribution Territory: World, English Language
Number of Copies: 10,000
Retail Price: 19.99
Additional Titles/Writers: “For You” Prince
Publication List
Title: For You
Writer: Prince
Additional Comments: The song lyric will be used as an epigraph to the story.
Attachment(s)
1_For You_ORDINARY DAYS August 1 2022.docx
[0KVGXD-V95ER]