Comments by "Ginny Jolly" (@ginnyjollykidd) on "How Taylor Swift (Legally) Changed Music Forever ft. Rick Beato" video.

TL;DR Writing a book? Don't ask singer to use lyrics and play royalties. Write a poem and use it instead. You don't pay anything, and it means more to your reader. So many times book writers have asked if they could pay royalties to use a singer's lyrics in their books. I've always said it was a bad idea. People who love a particular song think it will last forever, but seriously, how many people today know who Eddie Cantor is or his song "Ma, He's Kissing Me"? Lyrics don't mean much by themselves. Singers and their accompaniment make the songs mean something. Only the writer knows what it's supposed to feel like, even if the copywrited words were used. The closest I've seen to that is by Diane Duane describing Steve Perry's voice, and even in the hands of a good, well - published author the description falls flat. So I always tell them why not to do it and then to go write a poem about the subject and use it instead. You don't have to pay for it, and it can mean a whole lot more to the audience.
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