I still have my nasal strip on as I’m polishing this newsletter. I honestly look insane when I wake up now—I’m up to a sleep mask, mouth tape, and a nasal strip every night. And hey, I’m sleeping more than 6 hours a night for the first time in… 7 years? But I just know the day is coming when I go for my morning walk and forget to take off the strip.

Anyway, you’re here to talk social, or maybe Taylor Swift, or both? Let’s hit on:

• Why you can’t use Taylor Swift in your brand content

• How to cleverly use Swiftie-adjacent trends for your content

• Why you, a brand for profit, don’t get fair use or parody outs

—Jack Appleby

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I am such a colossal believer in sharing your personal career story through content. Cold applications don’t work! You need a chance to show off your brain and experience, and there’s no better way than tossing up a few LinkedIn posts.

But I wanna help you dive deep on what makes you unique. So, I’ve built Break An Egg—it gives you daily writing prompts for LinkedIn specifically meant to mine your career for thoughts & opinions that make you special as a professional. No basic personal branding advice here—I just wanna show you off.

It’s literally just $5/month (honestly, I gotta increase that rate), and you’ll get 30 prompts a month to help you get your first posts up, plus access to our community of BAEs (our cute lil’ name for our subs). Hope to see you there!

No, your brand can’t use Taylor Swift in your content

Listen, I’m a Swiftie, too. I still consider “Cardigan” the song of the pandemic, and “Fortnight” is genuinely a perfect track (even if Tortured Poets is about 8 songs too long & not close to as dynamic as Folklore & Evermore).

Now we’ve got a new Taylor album announcement via her boyfriend’s podcast, and the internet is rightfully buzzing—she’s quite literally one of the most famous artists people of all-time.

But no, brands—you don’t get to use Taylor’s face in your content. Or her name.

Don’t worry, though, I’ve put together an FAQ on celebrity likeness and meme marketing for this special occassion.

Is it legal to use celebrity likeness in brand social content?

No. Not unless you’ve negotiated with the celebrity for the rights to their name and likeness.

What about organic content? Can we use celebs there?

No. Organic content is still advertising content for the business, coming from your business social account. That means the above applies.

Aren’t memes of celebs fair use? Or parody?

No. Per Westlaw today, there are four factors debated in fair use:

1. the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes

2. the nature of the copyrighted work

3. the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole

4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

You’re working for a brand. All of your content is of “a commercial nature” because you’re using it get your brand seen by potential customers. If you want more info on fair use, I dove deeper on wider meme marketing in the newsletter last year.

What law are you breaking if you use a celebrity photo?

Copyright law. You don’t have the rights to the photo, which violates the original photographer’s rights, and you don’t have the rights to the celebrity’s name, image, or likeness, which violates their own rights.

What’s it cost to properly license Taylor photos?

Head on over to Getty Images for their full library of TSwift. Looks like the “large” versions of photos cost around $500 each… but wait, that’s for “standard editorial rights,” which specifically states this license doesn’t grant advertising rights. You’d have to request the Custom Rights pricing to negotiate that, which… well, you won’t. Because it would amount to celebrity endorsement, and you don’t have the budget.

Okay… but are we actually gonna get sued?

You sure could! And it’s happened with Taylor Swift!

Do you, a Social Media Manager, want to explain to your boss why you just received a six-figure lawsuit because you wanted to make a meme on a random Tuesday?

Wait, you have her pic at the top of this article! Hypocrite!

This is a newsletter—it’s editorial, and fair use allows limited use of copyrighted material for reporting, commentary, criticism, and.or education. I’m not a brand! And I’m using a screenshot of the podcast as other news outlets are, not another photographer’s image that I wouldn’t have their rights for. So I’m safe! But you’re a brand. Your usage of Taylor implies endorsement.

Is there a way to tie your brand to the Taylor madness that’s legal and effective?

Yes! There are lots of clever ways to clout capture the moment and ride the wave. The Silence, Brand! newsletter has a round-up of examples from brands finding subtle ways to get involved in the moment. And hey, if there’s a natural tie that promotes your brand, go for it!

Jack, why are you so hard on illegal memes? You whine about this stuff all the time. What’s the deal?

Honestly? Because it sets a horrible example for our industry. I watch social media managers constantly talk about wanting to be taken seriously, then use shitposting and celebrity memes as a social media strategy. Then those same social media managers interview at legitimate corporations and suddenly realize proper legal teams have absolutely no grace for liability.

The best way to be a great social media marketer: learn to love your product & portray its human benefits through content without memes, and even without trends. You don’t need them. They’re crutches, and you’re trading short term contraband engagement for the skills you’ll actually need at the next level.