by Filmgirl37

Created on: May 02, 2009   Last Updated: May 04, 2009

The Chorus as Lyric's Catylyst

Like most of you out there, I have many years of song listening and song enjoying experience. That being said, I can tell you first that pending any illustrative examples I might use from popular culture to show you exactly where most song titles appear in song lyrics, it is unlikely that the most concise answer should take as many as 400 words to get out. Secondly, if I were to do the responsible thing as an advocate for the many "starving artists" out there that struggle each day to create the hits that we all listen to, I would engage in a brief debate as to whether the lyrical examples I would use to teach you should, in fact, be quoted or not-per licensing and publishing restrictions and contracts that protect artists' rights. And very succinctly, I would tell you that the ethical quotation of someone else's work is now very much on the honor's system.

And if that system is violated, there is more than likely some very high fees to pay. I would also tell you that the "rat" as to your inappropriate use or quotation of someone else's song lyrics could be amongst you at any givin time without your knowledge. He or she could be an audience member at any one of your many unbilled presentations or exibitions of the material or he or she could be surfing (and perhaps monitoring) the Internet as I speakto determine how his or her work is being represented and by whom. So, buyer-(or non-buyer) beware and be cautious when quoting song lyrics (or any other written or printed creative material for that matter) that you yourself did not create. Directly below are some basic guidelines that I am sure will keep you in compliance to the honor system:

a. a person who is not the creator of said song lyrics or creative material is always free to use some portion of the material for quoting purposes so long as the whole piece is not displayed.

b. a person is more often than not able to quote said song lyrics or any other creative material in an educational setting (such as a school, continuing education class or corporate seminar) provided that the material is used solely for that purpose and promply discarded following its presentation. Depending in the educational purpose intended, however, some resrictions might apply and some nominal fees might apply.

c. a person is more often than not able to quote said song lyrics or creative material under "private use" circumstances only. That is, an individual is free to copy lyrics into his or her journal

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