1.  The publisher will ask you to demonstrate that the text is either in public domain OR that you have permission to use it.

 

2.  You should count on getting a lot of friction from the owner of the copyright of the poems.

 

You didn't ask, but if I were you, I would get the permission (in writing, including sharing royalties, etc) before going to all the trouble of setting the poems.

If the poem is under copyright (very likely if it was published after 1923), then you need permission from the copyright holders to use the poem in any way--even just to set it to music. Publishing the music would require advance permission before submission, and an agreement as to sharing of royalties after publication.

 

Lee G. Barrow

 Dear Jeffrey,

 

My experience differs on non-PD poetry to the point where I always contact the publisher of the poetry first, even when I have a musical setting in mind.  This includes, for example, the poetry of Willa Cather, some of which is PD and some not.  When I wanted to do settings of some poems of a nameless but famous poet, the publisher insisted on a $250 per poem fee for each poem I wanted to set.  I declined to set this poetry, even though I had an idea of what I wanted to do.  Other publishers and poets have welcomed me with open arms, although getting music published is typically different from getting permission to set the poetry.  Read carefully the publishers' guidelines for submission, too.  Some of them will front the cost for the poem if they agree to publish your non-PD poetry setting; some split; with others, it's you who must pay fees up front.  My personal best advice for non-PD poetry and lyrics from personal experience as a general rule:  Don't unless you'd die if you didn't.  Next best advice--maybe become a copyright lawyer [sarcastic but with a bit of truth to it, perhaps].  Again, my experience.  Good luck.

 

Donald Callen Freed

 To all who have answered, thanks so much for your insight.  

 

Of course the details are valuable, but if I am hearing you all right, then the big picture is:  probably not worth the trouble unless the text is PD.

 

You may have all just saved me a lot of time.

 

Thanks again.

 

Cheers,

 

Jeffrey

Jeffrey, I do think that if you limit yourself only to PD texts, you'll miss a lot.  The inspiration that may be engendered by the work of a contemporary poet may well be worth all the hassle that it takes to track them down and get permission. I'm not arguing with Donald's voice of experience, but don't totally close the door on the possibility. And remember that poets like to be performed too...

 

If the poetry you're setting is helping to produce something beautiful, then it's worth paying for!

I have had very positive experiences with copyright owners of both music and poetry and, in one case involving a marching band, a comic strip.  In some cases it may not be possible to obtain permission by any means.  In some cases the owner of the original material has not asked for a fee for the kind of performance I proposed, amazingly enough.  

 

If it is a quality text it would be worth the trouble.  I suppose there are other complicating issues that could make it not worth the time.

Interesting story -- Britten originally set a poem called "Lone Dog" for a movement of his Friday Afternoons. He could not get permission to use the poem, so a substitute had to be made at the last minute prior to publication (I forget which movement was substituted). In recent years, the copyright finally ran out on Lone Dog, so if you buy a new copy of FA, it is included. Recently I ran across a yellowed setting of Lone Dog. Obviously the owner gave permission to at least one composer. It sure seems like it would have been a lot smarter to have given permission to Britten rather than a composer no one has heard of these days.

I believe that Eric Whitacre had a similar problem with his original text for "Sleep", which was taken from a Robert Frost poem. I believe he set it without first getting permission from the Robert Frost estate & wound up not being able to publish the piece as he originally intended. Of course, "Sleep" is a fabulous text & his difficulties turned into our advantage.

 

If I were you, I'd get permission from the publisher to set whatever text you are interested in before going any further with this & would work on getting permission to use other texts that you might be interested in using in the future as well. Even if your piece doesn't ever get published but is used in a performance or recording, you could face legal issues. The cost for the permission fees is certainly a lot less than any legal fees you might face later on.