I’ve been writing a book for a year now, and I want to share music through that book. Like a song dedicated to every chap. But copyright???

Steven J Pemberton

Copyright doesn't protect the names of bands or singers, or the titles of songs. So you can write something like, "Chapter 2, dedicated to Bridge over Troubled Water by Simon and Garfunkel", and that's fine. If the reader wants to listen to the song before or after they read the chapter, or put it on repeat while they read the chapter, it's their own problem to find a legal way to do that. What you can't do is quote from the lyrics of the song, unless you get permission from the copyright owner and (usually) pay a license fee. License fees usually run to hundreds of dollars per line for popular songs. An old song might be out of copyright, in which case anyone can quote from it as much as they like. In most countries, copyright lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years. There is a legal principle known as fair use or fair dealing, which allows you to quote small sections of a copyrighted work without having to get permission or pay a fee. Usage of song lyrics tends not to fall under fair use, because songs are usually so short that even a couple of lines is a substantial portion of the song. (It's not as simple as "less than X percent is fair use and more isn't fair use". But the more you use, the less likely it is to be considered fair use.)

MsBittner

Listen to Mr. Pemberton, who's correct across the board. It's worth noting that the songs that speak to you as perfect for a given chapter can negatively impact the reader who doesn't know the song or doesn't like it. I'd advise not doing this.

Adam

I think u must get the copyright approval of the music author in advance. But to be honest, I think its not necessary for u to involve some music in ur book.