With artists seeking to expand their influence beyond music, trade mark protection plays an increasingly important role.
As record sales sink in the face of streaming and touring costs rise, musicians are more reliant on merchandise and offshoot brands as crucial revenue streams. Artist-branded fashion and beauty lines, as well as collaborations, are becoming powerful tools for income generation and audience engagement.
The value of trade marks for music artists
Gone are the days of simply listening to what is on the radio. As the competition among artists multiplies, artist branding has become vital in the battle to stand out. Whilst copyright protects music, artists rely on trade mark protection to secure the exclusive rights to not only their name but album names, song titles, key lyrics and various other aspects of their personal brand.
This allows control over the sale of unauthorised merchandise or the use of an artist’s name in a way that would imply false endorsement, both of which could affect consumer and fanbase trust.
Trade mark protection can also be a key part of a PR strategy. We can see this with Taylor Swift and her push to re-record her back catalogue following a dispute with her previous record label that retained ownership of the original recordings. The musician released each re-recorded album using the moniker and registered trade mark “Taylor’s Version”. In doing so, she effectively distinguished between her new and original recordings, and encouraged fans to stream and purchase the former, from which she herself will profit.
In addition, as the industry shifts away from physical record sales and traditional revenue models, artists are looking to lend their name and likeness to products via licensing or side businesses. The massive success of Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty and Savage X Fenty lines, for example, is the reason for Rihanna’s billionaire status, rather than the royalties she receives from her music. Rihanna is now worth $1.4 billion, making her the richest female musician in the world.
Best practices for artist-brand collaborations
An artist’s trade marks must be clearly owned and licensed appropriately. This includes obtaining trade mark protection in relation to all goods and services of interest, including performances, entertainment services and merchandise lines, but also any separate goods for which the artists’ name and brand will be licensed. This allows for cleaner transactions and ensures the artist’s long-term control over their brand.
Collaborations, particularly between music and fashion brands, have flooded the market in recent years. Collaborations maximise audience reach and elevate brand visibility, but bringing two brands together can cause complications for intellectual property ownership. For brands and artists entering into commercial collaborations, clearly defined agreements are vital. A well-structured contract will specify the use of each party’s trademarks, ensuring that logos, names, and designs are used in line with brand guidelines.
The content of effective licensing agreements
- Ownership of intellectual property (IP): If a new product or design is created collaboratively, the contract should clarify who owns this new IP, as well as who is responsible for registering and maintaining any new trade marks.
- Confidentiality: Protecting sensitive design, financial and business information is essential, particularly when developing high-profile, high-investment projects.
- Content and product quality sign-off: The artist should retain the right to review and approve final designs, content and product standards, ultimately maintaining control over quality throughout the process given the risk of harm to reputation should products be sub-standard.
- Brand usage guidelines: The requirement to stick to brand guidelines on either side of the arrangement helps ensure consistency in the promotion of the product.
- Reputational risk and termination rights: Artists and brands alike must consider the potential for reputational harm and be able to terminate the agreement relatively easily if values no longer align.
The breakdown of Adidas and Kanye West’s ongoing partnership in 2022 is a stark reminder that brands must retain the ability to walk away if values no longer align. Following anti-semitic comments made by Kanye on Twitter, Adidas were able to terminate their agreements relating to the Yeezy line of shoes and other goods, leaving them with Yeezy stock worth over a billion. Adidas has since been selling the stock in batches and donating the proceeds to NGOs.
The risk of confusion and misrepresentation
Given the increasing prevalence of collaborations and licensing arrangements, there is also a need to factor this into a likelihood of confusion analysis in infringement and opposition matters, or the likelihood that a link will be made to a reputable trade mark.
For example, artists may find it easier to argue that the unauthorised use of their name or a similar name on entirely unrelated products would lead to confusion, harm to repute or a misrepresentation to consumers that they endorsed the product.
There have been several clashes over graphic t-shirts bearing a design that implies an artist’s endorsement. Back in 2013, Rihanna was successful in a passing off action against Topshop who used her image on a t-shirt. Despite it being acknowledged that there were no free-standing image rights in the UK, it was thought that this created a false impression of an endorsement or promotion.
Fast fashion brands are often being called out online for taking heavy inspiration from tour merchandise for their ranges, which can include terms and designs relating to an artist’s music. This explains why artists such as Taylor Swift have begun to expand trade mark portfolios to not just artist names, but terms and phrases that have meaning relative to their music and fan base.
What’s next: Fortnite and future fashion
The latest frontier between music and fashion is digital. Platforms like Fortnite are leading the charge in merging gaming, music and fashion into one immersive experience. Virtual concerts and artist avatars provide fans with interactive ways to engage with music—often dressed in digital skins that reflect the artist’s real-world outfits.
For example, Sabrina Carpenter recently made her debut as a playable character on Fortnite with outfits inspired by her tour wardrobe and animated dance moves choreographed to her in-game music. It is also possible for players to buy in-game Sabrina-inspired products, such as guitars, purses and a mic.
Like Taylor, Sabrina Carpenter has protected her brand through a series of trade mark registrations, ensuring that her name and branding are not used without her permission, and allowing this to be licensed out to Fortnite as part of this deal.
As music, fashion and the digital landscape become more interwoven, and new collaborative opportunities arise, artists, brand owners and intellectual property lawyers alike must remain aware of the implications for ownership and licensing arrangements, as well as the increased risk of disputes.
For World IP Day 2025, we published a series of articles exploring the interplay of the evolving music industry and intellectual property, including a journey through musical patents and the implications of using AI to generate music.
