#trending: Profiteering or fair play? Debate erupts over TikToker's sale of lyric guides for Taylor Swift concerts
A discussion brewed online on whether the selling of lyric guides for Taylor Swift’s concert is “ethical”.
SINGAPORE — Some social media users are frowning on what a woman did to earn some quick cash, as they debated on whether it is appropriate to make a profit by selling lyric guides for Taylor Swift concerts, which is readily available information online.
Content creator, Ms Nicole Liel, 26, recently made a lyrics and fan chant guide for the American singer-songwriter's concert, which she sold and promoted on her TikTok and Instagram accounts.
This did not sit well with the pop singer's fans, also known as Swifties, as well as other content creators, with some accusing Ms Liel of profiteering off fellow fans by selling the guide.
An online PDF guide goes for S$12 and a hardcopy booklet costs S$15 on Ms Liel’s website named “Likely Liel”.
TikTok user “dogtorchris” reacted to Ms Liel's sales proposition, saying that he was appalled when he found out that she was selling electronic copies of the guide.
“That person claims to be a long-time Swiftie and being a long-time Swiftie myself, I think the community has always been about being kind, being collaborative, being generous,” he wrote.
He listed examples of Swifties embodying these traits by forming a Facebook group to help fellow fans buy concert tickets and giving free makeup tutorials for the concert.
This was why he felt that it was not very “ethical” of Ms Liel to sell the lyric guides, especially when other fans have been providing lyric guides for free.
Furthermore, he claimed that selling merchandise is an infringement of copyright and that Ms Liel may risk receiving a cease-and-desist letter from Taylor Nation, Swift’s management team.
The Copyright Act in Singapore states that it is a criminal offence to distribute copyrighted works of others without licensing.
Ending off his video, “dogtorchris” directed viewers to another TikTok user "jessasterous", who had made a free lyrics guide.
Although he did not directly referred to Ms Liel, “dogtorchris” made references to her past videos and comments that she had made in another TikTok user’s videos.
Ms Liel made a video last Thursday advertising the “Ultimate unofficial guide to The Eras Tour” that she had made for fans who were new to the tour.
The guide — which consisted of the concert set list, lyrics and fan chant — was well-received by fans who said that they “needed” it and that they were “grateful” to her for making the guide.
Ms Liel said in the video that she had trimmed the lyrics to where Swift sings in the concert and included information on where to locate bathrooms at the National Stadium.
In response to sentiments on the sale of her lyrics guide, Ms Liel told TODAY that she got the idea to sell the guides when she posted it on Instagram and it was well-received, with many asking for the guide.
She did not expect the guide to be so popular, she said, adding that the 40-page glossy printed book was expensive to produce, especially factoring the extra fees that she had to pay to expedite the print job.
Ms Liel claimed that she barely broke even from the sale of the booklets after spending slightly more than S$4,000 on printing.
She also said that the sale of the PDF version was a deterrent for “people to reproduce the same artwork” that she had worked on. She was hoping that fans may value the time she put into it and the need to protect her creative rights.
Noting that other people have also made tour merchandise based on Swift’s work and lyrics, Ms Liel said that hers was no different.
Social media users were split on how to feel about her endeavour, with some saying that it was unfair to charge for the readily available lyrics, while others saw value in the time and effort invested in creating a curated guide.
One TikTok user said: “Making profits off fans is definitely not it, especially if (the lyrics are) something you can (find on) Google.”
Another agreed: “From a designer's perspective, this is very unethical.”
A third person said that the price affixed was unreasonable: “Sorry but S$12 for (a PDF file) is crazy.”
In a video by TikToker “jessasterous”, which mentioned Ms Liel’s S$15 printed guide, some people commented that it was fair play if there were Swifties willing to pay for the guide.
One said: “Don’t have to throw shade at her, she came up with the idea and resources to design and print it.”
A second comment went: “As a Swiftie, all props to 'lielnicole' to hire and pay a designer for the work. I myself wouldn't pay S$15 for it, but if others are willing to, so be it!”
Despite the kerfuffle over this enterprise, it seems that there is no bad blood spilt as Ms Liel said that TikToker "dogtorchris" is "entitled to his opinion".
