Posted:
Genie, my defense of Taylor Swift was constructed poorly and I did have to mull over/research some points. So here it is again, if you still have the patience.
This is the public view timeline of events
1. Kanye West drops his song "Famous"
2. People are shocked at his lyrics
3. Kanye claims Taylor approved the lyrics
4. Taylor denies approving the lyrics
5. Kim calls Taylor a liar, alluding to proof
6. Taylor says there is no proof
7. Kim releases her snapchat videos of the recording
8. Social media celebrates end of Taylor Swift
9. Taylor continues to deny and accuses Kim and Kanye of defamation
Here is my point
If there was an hour long conversation that was recorded that Taylor Swift knew about she would not have committed the mistake of denying approval. That is a purely dumb rookie mistake to lie when you know there is proof.
That is why I believe Taylor Swift was unaware of the recording, which makes the recording unethical (maybe illegal). I also contend that it is plausible that she gave approval for two lines of the song, but later regretted it finding the whole song distasteful. I am willing to accept that Kanye West also did act on good faith assuming he had approval, but misunderstood the scope of the approval.
That is why I believe Taylor Swift was unaware of the recording, which makes the recording unethical (maybe illegal). I also contend that it is plausible that she gave approval for two lines of the song, but later regretted it finding the whole song distasteful. I am willing to accept that Kanye West also did act on good faith assuming he had approval, but misunderstood the scope of the approval.
Coming to the issue of name dropping and references in songs.
As long as a person is not named it is all kosher. There are so many songs alluding to people. It is all speculation at that point. All the accusations against Taylor Swift are baseless because she never uses names in songs. The only songs she uses names are Tim McGraw (an ode to him) and Ronan (a tribute to a fan who died of cancer).
However, if you name a person you have to either get permission or it has to be a clearly fictionalized account. No one cares about positive accounts, but negative accounts can be sued. Eminem was actually sued by his mother. It was settled out of court, but he would have lost the suit. As for his song about his wife, it was a fictionalized narration of him murdering his wife and purely about his mental perceptions.
However, if you name a person you have to either get permission or it has to be a clearly fictionalized account. No one cares about positive accounts, but negative accounts can be sued. Eminem was actually sued by his mother. It was settled out of court, but he would have lost the suit. As for his song about his wife, it was a fictionalized narration of him murdering his wife and purely about his mental perceptions.
Kanye need not have gotten permission from Taylor, but it would have been in his best interest to do so if he planned to drop the name. Like Eminem's mom Taylor has every right to take objection over her name being used. Of course the matter is more complicated due to the phone conversation. Since the entire song was not played a court is most likely to settle on Taylor's side as there was no "full" disclosure on Kanye's part. Taylor is in a place where she can sue and take Kimye to the cleaners. However, she personally will not do so. Although, I think her record labels and those financially vested in her still have a solid case against Kimye if they choose to do so. This will boil down to music industry politics and record label rivalry.
Too bad it isn't like India where individuals sue willy nilly for stars they love. But I would totally sue Kimye if I had the time, money and patience.
Too bad it isn't like India where individuals sue willy nilly for stars they love. But I would totally sue Kimye if I had the time, money and patience.
