Iconic comedian reveals jaw-dropping cost of playing Taylor Swift song at his show
The 61-year-old star revealed the five-digit figure while appearing on Vulture 's Good One podcast this week.
'I think it came out to $50K, around that. I did everything I could to get the joke in front of her,' he said about spoofing the 35-year-old singer's 2022 song Bigger Than the Whole Sky.
He said he initially reached out to Swift's longtime collaborator, musician Jack Antonoff.
'I know Jack Antonoff enough to text him — and he's the cowriter 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?"'
DailyMail.com has contacted Taylor's representatives for comment regarding Maron's payment claim but have yet to hear back.
Maron said that Antonoff directed him to 'go through the proper channels' to obtain a license for the song, which was featured on Swift's Midnights album.
He said about the cost, 'It was doable. We made enough money. It was tight, but because of the ticket sales for the [televised version of the] special, we are able to get that song.'
The fee allowed him to sing just 'a minute' of the tune, with financial consequences if he were to extend it.
'If I would have gone over the minute, it would have been more money,' he divulged.
'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,' the entertainer recalled.
Maron emphasized his 'history' with the song, and said he felt that he needed to play it during his standup set.
'It had to happen,' he insisted. '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."'
The star noted that while Swift's team gave him the ok to use the music, he doesn't know if the Cruel Summer hitmaker has actually heard his bit.
Maron has hosted the podcast WTF With Marc Maron since 2009, making him one of the original podcasters.
He said about the cost, 'It was doable. We made enough money. It was tight, but because of the ticket sales for the [televised version of the] special, we are able to get that song'; pictured in 2019
In June he announced that he and producer Brendan McDonald are ending the show later this year, per Variety.
'WTF' is coming to an end, and it's our decision,' he told listeners during an episode featuring comedian John Mulaney as a guest. 'We'll have our final episode sometime in the fall.'
He added candidly, 'It was not some kind of difficult decision, necessarily. Neither me nor Brendan — who are the only people in charge of this operation on every level — we both realized together that we were done.'
Marc is currently promoting the animated family comedy The Bad Guys 2, in theaters August 1.
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