Are earworms infringement? No, they stay inside your head, so they exist entirely outside the scope of copyright law. If you ask me the lyrics, fair use acknow

Are earworms infringement? No, they stay inside your head, so they exist entirely outside the scope of copyright law. If you ask me the lyrics, fair use acknowledges that there's a copyright in effect, and carves out an exemption. It's a matter-of-degree argument, is this a casual conversation or a written interview to be published in print, did you ask me to play an acoustic cover of the song and post it on YouTube? Either way, we acknowledge that the copyright is there, but whether or not money needs to change hands in some direction or other is a function of what happens next.