Marc Maron knew he really had to have Taylor Swift’s “Bigger Than the Whole Sky” for his upcoming comedy special, there was just one problem: He couldn’t afford the full song.
The comedian and podcaster revealed the hefty price tag — and a famous mutual friend he went through — in order to use just “a minute” of the singer’s Midnights bonus track for his upcoming stand-up special on a recent episode of Vulture’s Good One podcast.
“I think it came out to $50K [or] around that,” Maron said when asked how much it cost for him to use the song. “I did everything I could to get the joke in front of her.”
He even went through music producer Jack Antonoff, a frequent Swift collaborator and longtime friend of the pop star’s who produced the 2022 track with her.
“I know Jack Antonoff enough to text him — and he’s the co-[producer] on that song,” Maron explained. “I said, ‘I don’t know what’s proper or how to do this, but we’re running out of money on this thing. It’s probably going to come out of my pocket. Is there anything you can do about this song or talk to Taylor or whatever?'”
Maron said that Antonoff advised him to go through the proper channels first. “It was doable. We made enough money,” Maron said of getting the rights eventually. “It was tight, but because of the ticket sales for the special, we are able to get that song.”
However, he was quick to note he wasn’t able to get the full track — and the usage fee ultimately applies to just “a minute” of it.
“If I would have gone over the minute, it would have been more money,” he said. “We couldn’t even let it, like, play out the special or anything. So, I got together with a band and wrote that music as the opening and closing. Yeah, so it was under a minute.”
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According to Maron, not getting to use the song was not an option for him. “It had to happen,” Maron said. “The real fear is, like, [if] she doesn’t let you use it? You can’t do the bit on the special. That’s why I was, like, ‘I think she’ll like the bit.'”
So, has Swift seen the bit in question? “[Her team] signed off on [the song]. No idea if Taylor saw the bit or not,” he said.
Check it out for yourself when Maron’s second HBO Original comedy special, Marc Maron: Panicked, premieres on HBO on Friday, Aug. 1, at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
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