Marc Maron thrilled fans when he sang the Taylor Swift song Bigger Than the Whole Sky during his comedy show – but canny Tay Tay ensured he paid for the privilege
Comedian Marc Maron has revealed he shelled out tens of thousands of dollars to include a Taylor Swift song in his stand up she. The 61-year-old comic sought permission to sing one of the chart-topping star’s songs during a recent gig.
Fans who have attended one Marc’s stand-up concerts may have heard him sing 35-year-old Taylor’s song Bigger Than the Whole Sky from her 2022 album Midnights. But being allowed to sing the song cost a pretty penny – adding to Swift’s already considerable fortune.
Reports have suggested she became a billionaire thanks to her monumental Eras World Tour. However, she did dig deep recently to buy back masters of her own songs which had been sold in a 2019 sale.
Marc was happy to throw a casual $50,000 (£37,000) Taylor’s way after he realised he wanted to sing her song while on stage. And he also revealed he was cleared to sing just one minute of the song for this amount – or else he would have to pay more.
Opening up to Vulture, the comedian said: “I think it came out to $50K, around that. I did everything I could to get the joke in front of her.” He went on to explain he first approached musician Jack Antonoff, who has collaborated with Taylor on a number of her albums.
He said: “I know Jack Antonoff enough to text him — and he’s the cowriter on that song. 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?'”
Jack then sent Marc to the right channels to negotiate a deal – where he was told to cough up $50K. He said: “It was doable. We made enough money. It was tight, but because of the ticket… If I would have gone over the minute, it would have been more money.
“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, it was under a minute.”
But he also explained that he “had” to include the track as he felt the themes of loss were too close to his heart to ignore.
He insisted: “It had to happen. The real fear is, like, she doesn’t let you use it, and then what do you do? You can’t do the bit on the special. That’s why I was, like, [manifesting] ‘I think she’ll like the bit.'”
Taylor is hardly shy of money herself – and it was reported in May that she bought back the masters of her first six albums for a reported $360 million (£267 million) after rival Scooter Braun bought them in 2019 for a reported $300 million (£223 million).
Gushing to her fans about her purchase, the star said in a written note published on her official website: “I’m trying to gather my thoughts into something coherent, but right now my mind is just a slideshow.
“A flashback sequence of all the time I daydreamed about, wished for, and pined away for a chance to get to tell this news. All the times I was thiiiiiiiiiiis close, reaching out for it, only for it to fall through.
“I almost stopped thinking it could ever happen, after 20 years of having the carrot dangled and then yanked away. But that’s all in the past now. I’ve been bursting into tears of joy at random intervals ever since I found that this is really happening. I really get to say those words.
“All of the music I’ve ever made … now belongs… to me.”
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