Taylor Swift is not only one of the leading stars in the world. She is also a marketing innovator — as exemplified by her recent decision to abandon Spotify.
Here’s one perspective on Swift as a marketing pioneer from Knowledge@Wharton:
If you’re ready to ‘party like its 1989,’ you’ll have to talk to Taylor Swift first. The pop star recently applied to trademark that phrase and others related to her songs — a move that marks a shift in the industry, as artists, songwriters, and music publishers increasingly become independent brands. But the case also raises questions about where artists and industry players might cross the line and damage their reputations.”
“Swift’s trademark quest could work out fine, or it could backfire, according to R. Polk Wagner, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, whose specialties include copyright and trademark law. ‘She could trademark every line from her lyrics, but there are real limits,’ he said. ‘Every time she does that, she is risking money and risks [her] reputation. Twitter She has to walk a careful line between being an aggressive brander, promoter and builder of the Taylor Swift brand and crossing that line into aggressively suing her fans and customers.’”
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I think the move on Taylor’s part to trademark her lyrics will slowly be the start of her demise. First she limited spotify from playing her songs because people will be listening to her music for free, and she wants listeners to pay for her music, and now she wants to trademarks simple words she uses in her songs? Taylor is already making enough money, from all the endorsements, music, and by being herself. I would understand if this was a product or brand with a slogan or trademark like “I’m Loving It”- Mcdonalds, or “Just Do It”-Nike. Why would Taylor need to trademark “This sick beat.”? It’s just another way to make more money. I think if she does get approves for trademarking her songs, her popularity might slowly decrease.
Taylor Swift is a good singer, yes and a great business women. Her songs are not inspirational. She wants to trademark “cause we never go out of style”, “this sick beat” and “party like its 1989.” This seems stupid to me because first off they aren’t even good sayings. Second of all, she was born in 1989 she doesn’t know how to party like it when she was never alive. Taylor has more than enough money to last for herself and if she has kids one day. She does not need to trademark these sayings because it makes her look money hungry and it will decrease her popularity. Why would someone want to keep listening to her music if they are not allowed to use her phrases?
Even being a fan of Taylor Swift, when I heard that she was pulling her music from Spotify, I felt a bit confused. She is known by many people as a pop-star with one of the better reputations, and I felt like pulling her music from Spotify and trademarking some of her song lyrics seems greedy or stuck-up. Its not like she doesn’t have enough money already. After reading this article, I kind of understand why she’d decide to trademark some of her signature song lyrics, I mean they are her creations and I think it’s fair. But she shouldn’t go overboard, trademarking every phrase in her songs, because then she runs the risk of looking bad.
I think trademarking some of her lyrics could be a good thing if she does the right ones. In my opinion, trademarking “this sick beat” isn’t the best one to use. She should trademark something more popular and iconic like “haters gonna hate”. To me that lyric will have more of an impact on society. Otherwise, her just picking lyrics just to trademark them will be the down fall of her and people may see her as going over the top and greedy. Which will then lead to her becoming unpopular.
I think that Taylor swift is a very smart business woman. However I do think that her trademarking everything she does is a bit unnecessary. Everyone knows tat Taylor swift has catchy lyrics and everyone can probably pick her lyrics out easily. There is no need for her to trademark everything she does. She should appreciate that others want to use her catchy lines like “this sick beat” in their products. She should take it as a complement instead of being a bit dramatic by trademarking everything. Like Tiffany trademarked their blue color which is understandable but they don’t trademark everything that they make. I think that Taylor swift needs a reality check that she’s not as high and mighty as she thinks she is.
I think that Taylor Swift’s idea to trademark her lyrics and songs so they can’t be played through Spotify (a mainstream music streaming source) is silly because 1. It makes her seem self-important, that her lyrics are life changing and untouchable, distancing herself from her fans and 2. putting her in a position to sue every illegal downloader, or fan who quotes her. It’s a new thing that she’s doing but in the end it will hurt her.
For me, Taylor Swift is my favorite American singer. Her song and her lyrics impress me a lot. I think that her trademarking her lyrics is a good thing to try but need to be careful. Because she has too many fans, her action affects her fans’ thinking. Thus, her bad lyrics are not good to be an example for trade marking. Thus, if she carefully trade mark, she will be successful.