Photo by David Brendan Hall
Taylor Swift has long been on the forefront of the Streaming Music Wars. She yanked her entire catalog from Spotfiy in 2014, and wrote Apple Music a stern letter about royalties in 2015. She’s since patched things up with Apple, but her music is still unavailable on the other platform. And it looks like it won’t be anytime soon, as Swift has filed trademark paperwork for what looks to be her own, personal music streaming service.
(Read: Music Streaming for Dummies: A Consumer’s Guide)
TMZ reports that Swift has submitted documents seeking to lock down the name Swifties for a website “featuring non-downloadable multi-media content in the nature of audio recordings” — which sounds a lot like a streaming service. Swift’s music is currently available on Apple and Tidal, but this new project looks like it would be the one stop shop for only the pop star’s catalog.
(Read: Which Artists Are Still Holding Out on Streaming?)
Swifties won’t just be about streaming 1989 and Red, however. It looks like Tay Tay is also looking to brand and sell products like guitars, guitar picks, guitar straps, and drumsticks. There’s even language in the paperwork about educational retreats and camps, as well as online music courses.
Swift’s reps have yet to comment on the report.
Update: Further investigation by Billboard clarifies what Swift may be up to. Instead of a full-scale streaming service, it looks as though the trademark in questions covers streaming and downloading of audio, video, and live concert recordings for mobile software. There’s another trademark filing for non-downloadable live performances, interviews, videos, articles, and more, all of which are connected to “Fan club services.”
Taken all together, it seems Swifties will be a fan club app featuring exclusive audio, video, and possibly a video game and a dedicated store. In addition to the aforementioned musical accoutrement, the branding also extends to purses, phone cases, sunglasses, clothing, and stationary materials. In total, nine trademarks for the Swifties name were filed in mid-February.
