Using Song Titles in a Story (or searching for an alternative).

Brukaviador · Feb 15, 2012

Despite the fact that someone has probably asked something like this before, I couldn't find anything with a search. I apologize for the duplication, if there is one.

I found I'm running into an interesting problem in my current story. The opening is a club. Drinks, loud music, and dancing, etc. To set the scene, I tapped out the following line in my first draft:

"The sharper beat of Rihanna's latest S&M remix faded into the background, blending seamlessly with the lighter pulse of Party In My Head leading into its four minute domination of the dance floor."

When I went to revise, I ran into a few possible roadblocks:

Of course, the legal question is first. Can I do this? I'm not saying anything good or bad about the songs, just mentioning them to set the feel for what type of place my characters are in.
To avoid this I could take them out, but that's killing a little bit of the flavor. Then I have to describe the music in generic terms, which I'm not even sure I can do. I'm more of a Heavy Metal\Goth\Psychobilly kind of listener. I don't even know what genre of music those songs are from. (Just generic "Dance" maybe?)
I may also be at risk of dating my story, and quickly. Music trends wane fast, so even if I got the story accepted right this second, it'd still be six months before it saw print, and by then the songs will have fallen by the wayside for something new.

Thoughts?

Drachen Jager · Feb 15, 2012

Viktor Night said:
When I went to revise, I ran into a few possible roadblocks:

Of course, the legal question is first. Can I do this? I'm not saying anything good or bad about the songs, just mentioning them to set the feel for what type of place my characters are in.

To avoid this I could take them out, but that's killing a little bit of the flavor. Then I have to describe the music in generic terms, which I'm not even sure I can do. I'm more of a Heavy Metal\Goth\Psychobilly kind of listener. I don't even know what genre of music those songs are from. (Just generic "Dance" maybe?)

I may also be at risk of dating my story, and quickly. Music trends wane fast, so even if I got the story accepted right this second, it'd still be six months before it saw print, and by then the songs will have fallen by the wayside for something new.

Thoughts?

1) Yes. The pertinant laws are called "Fair Use" laws. Wikipedia has a pretty good article on Fair Use.

2) You're fine leaving it in.

3) That would be my concern as a writer. It's up to you to sort that one out.

IceCreamEmpress · Feb 15, 2012

Fair use isn't even relevant here--song titles are not copyrightable in the US. You could publish a book that was nothing but a list of song titles (as long as the songs were published in the US) and you wouldn't be violating anyone's intellectual property rights.

James D. Macdonald · Feb 15, 2012

This is a lousy idea from a writing point of view.

Either the reader won't be familiar with the song(s) at all, or they'll have a different emotional value for the reader than they do for you.

Unless four minutes is important to the plot, you can shorten that sentence a lot.

Maryn · Feb 15, 2012

Yeah, Fair Use isn't a factor. Titles, perfectly legal. But what those songs mean to you will not 'translate' to the readership as a whole.

As a reader, I'm very put off by musical or other pop culture references that I don't get, or that I get, but don't agree with. There's no certainty that the way the author interprets them or what s/he believes they imply or impart matches what they are to the reader.

If this were my work, I'd lose the artists' names completely and possibly limit the description of the music itself. What matters is that a fairly long song throbs on the dance floor, right?

And I agree, music specifics date the work, and fast.

Maryn, admitting she knows who Rihanna is, but would not know her music if she heard it, and has never heard of the other band--don'tcha want me reading your stuff?

Jamesaritchie · Feb 16, 2012

Use it if you like it. I don't buy for a second that you shouldn't use a song title, or anything else, because some readers won't recognize it, and have it mean the same thing.

I worry about what things mean to a character, and I worry about detail and verisimilitude, not whether some reader won't get a reference. Start writing that way and you'll lose more than you gain.

MttStrn · Feb 16, 2012

Jamesaritchie said:
Use it if you like it. I don't buy for a second that you shouldn't use a song title, or anything else, because some readers won't recognize it, and have it mean the same thing.

I worry about what things mean to a character, and I worry about detail and verisimilitude, not whether some reader won't get a reference. Start writing that way and you'll lose more than you gain.

+1

Quickbread · Feb 16, 2012

Jamesaritchie said:
Use it if you like it. I don't buy for a second that you shouldn't use a song title, or anything else, because some readers won't recognize it, and have it mean the same thing.

I worry about what things mean to a character, and I worry about detail and verisimilitude, not whether some reader won't get a reference. Start writing that way and you'll lose more than you gain.

I agree, too. Look at Jennifer Egan's A Visit from the Goon Squad. It's filled with bands and song titles I've never heard of, but all those names/titles still established a vivid feel and made me feel like I was getting a great window into the world of punk and indy rock.

James D. Macdonald · Feb 16, 2012

Jamesaritchie said:
I don't buy for a second that you shouldn't use a song title, or anything else, because some readers won't recognize it, and have it mean the same thing.

Do you buy that overuse slows down your narrative, distracts your readers, and fails to add meaning?

Well, you ought to.

How does "The sharper beat of Peppercorn's latest V&K remix faded into the background, blending seamlessly with the lighter pulse of Scamper In The Green leading into its four minute domination of the dance floor" add anything to your story more than "the sharper beat faded into the background, blending into a light dance number"? Presumably something important is happening at the same time, and that's where we should point the readers' attention.

You can use actual names and brands only when they aren't vital to understanding the plot, the characters, or the theme.

Brukaviador · Feb 22, 2012

Great points, everyone. Thanks. I think I'll go generic.

Tepelus · Feb 22, 2012

I agree with Uncle Jim. I don't listen to that music so I haven't any idea what the music would sound like. I would just use a description of the kind of music the character is listening to and/maybe how the character feels while listening to it.

Using Song Titles in a Story (or searching for an alternative).

Brukaviador

Drachen Jager

Professor of applied misanthropy

IceCreamEmpress

Hapless Virago

James D. Macdonald

Your Genial Uncle

Maryn

At Sea

Jamesaritchie

MttStrn

Action is my reward..that and bacon

Quickbread

James D. Macdonald

Your Genial Uncle

Brukaviador

Tepelus

And so...