How much did Marc Maron pay to use a Taylor Swift song in his stand-up special? Comedian was only allowed a minute of "Bigger Than the Whole Sky"

On the July 25 episode of Vulture's Good One podcast, comedian Marc Maron revealed that he had to pay $50,000 for using a portion of Taylor Swift's Bigger Than the Whole Sky. During the conversation, Maron stated that he felt that the track was going to be an integral part of his HBO special, Marc Maron: Panicked.

The comedian reportedly contacted mutual friend Jack Antonoff for help. For the unversed, Antonoff also co-produced that song along with Taylor Swift. Explaining the process that he had to undergo in order to get the necessary licensing, Maron said:

"I know Jack Antonoff enough to text him - and he's the co-writer 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?"

At the time, Antonoff reportedly suggested the comedian contact the official music licensing channels. Marc Maron finally obtained the license but only for a minute of the entire track, which was originally released in the year 2022. In the latest conversation Maron revealed that he wanted to include more than a minute of the song, but that involved more money.

The comedian additionally spoke about his worries at the time, questioning the worst-case scenarios in which the pop star did not approve his request. In the conversation, Maron added:

"It had to happen. The real fear (was), like, (if) she doesn't let you use it, and then what do you do? You can't do the bit on the special."

Marc Maron: Panicked is all set to premiere on HBO on Friday, August 1, 2025, at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT. The show will reportedly also be available for streaming on HBO Max.

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"I feel that this is the best work I've done" — Marc Maron on his upcoming HBO special

As aforementioned, Marc Maron: Panicked is all set to premiere in a few days. According to reports by Deadline, the comedian seemed quite proud of how the project had turned out to be. In a statement reported by the outlet, Marc spoke about the special and said:

"I feel that this is the best work I've done. Everything came together. The direction, the production design, the shirt and the bits. HBO gets me and I'm thrilled to be presented by them."

The outlet also reported the reaction of Nina Rosenstein, Executive Vice President, HBO Programming, Late Night and Specials, to the upcoming special. In her statement, Nina first praised Maron. She added that his comic timing would hit the right nerve. Nina further described Maron as "funny, raw, and entirely one of a kind."

According to reports by Deadline, the upcoming project would become the comedian's sixth stand-up special. In separate news, he announced an update last month relating to his popular podcast WTF with Marc Maron. The comedian revealed that he was going to shut it down.

The Guardian reported that after running for about 16 years, the podcast had released more than 1,600 episodes. The outlet further revealed that the final episode of this podcast would be dropped sometime late this year. On June 2, during the podcast episode, Marc Maron said:

"Basically, it's time, folks. It's time. WTF is coming to an end. It’s our decision. We'll have our final episode sometime in the fall."

Maron added that while he and his producer Brendan McDonald were "tired," they were satisfied with how the podcast had turned out to be in the past years.

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Marc had previously shared his take on Taylor Swift's music

As previously mentioned, the 61-year-old comedian recently revealed paying a hefty amount of money to get the approval to use only a minute of a song by Taylor Swift. It, however, was not the first time that Maron had talked about the pop singer.

In an episode of his podcast WTF with Marc Maron from May 2023, Maron revealed that he was listening to Taylor's 2022 album, Midnights, while hiking. The comedian revealed that he thought about giving her music a shot, since he had heard her fans cheering for her a lot of times. Upon listening to the album, Maron reportedly understood what made people get so hyped up about Swift's music.

He also shared that he assumed that the popstar's music didn't suit his taste until he came across Bigger Than the Whole Sky. He said:

"I'm sort of like 'It's not really for me...' Then some song comes on, a song called Bigger Than the Whole Sky, and I start getting emotional because it's a grief song."

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Marc Maron: Panicked is all set to premiere on HBO on August 1, 2025, at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

Edited by Somava