There’s no denying the popularity of Taylor Swift.

With six massive concerts in Toronto as part of her worldwide Eras Tour, the musician is perhaps the biggest celebrity in the world with an army of intensely loyal fans. Among those ‘Swifties’ in the crowd was Mohamed Khimji, the David Allgood Professor in Business Law, who has created a new course, Law (Taylor's Version), set to begin this winter term.

The course will explore Swift’s impact on entertainment law by taking a closer look at her high-profile legal disputes—from defamation, copyright and trademark infringement to harassment, intellectual property, artist compensation, and more—and her business decisions.

Professor Khimji spoke with the Queen’s Gazette about the origin and design of the course, as well as Swift’s increasing influence.

What was your inspiration for developing ‘Law (Taylor’s Version)’ and how have students responded to the course so far?

It was really a combination of things. Firstly, I am a Taylor Swift fan and I’m also interested in the music industry in general. For example, I volunteer on the board of Small World Music, a non-profit organization that celebrates cultural diversity and creates opportunities for emerging, newcomer, and underrepresented artists in the Greater Toronto Area. On the professional side, I work in the business law space.

At the university, I would occasionally wear my Eras Tour t-shirt and some of my colleagues would ask me questions about why Swift re-recorded her albums (due to a 2019 dispute over the masters of her back catalog). This grabbed my attention and I thought students would be interested in learning why that happened, as well as about her other interactions with the law.

As you mention, Swift has had a number of legal battles throughout her career. Which ones have had the biggest impact on the music/entertainment industry?

The most significant has probably been the re-recording for the Taylor’s Version albums. This issue has had a significant impact on how artists do business. For example, popular artist Olivia Rodrigo insisted on full control of her masters when she was negotiating her record deal in 2021. On the other side, record companies have also been impacted and have responded by insisting on preventing artists from re-recording music for longer terms—10, 20, 30 years—in record deals.

It also had an impact on the public, as copyright became watercooler conversation at work—like the interactions that helped lead to my course—and dinner conversation at home.

Mohamed Khimji, the David Allgood Professor in Business Law at Queen’s, will be teaching a new course, Law (Taylor’s Version), set to begin this winter term. (Queen’s University)

Has Taylor Swift’s legal battles and fight for her rights as an artist added to her popularity?

Yes, I think so. She’s an inspiration for sticking to her principles, taking risks, and succeeding. Another example of this was her decision in 2014 to remove her music from Spotify [over concerns about fair compensation for artists] prior to release of her album 1989 .

At the time it was, and really still is, hard to imagine a musician being successful and popular without being on a streaming service. Yet, 1989 sold more than 1.3 million copies in the first week of release, and nobody had done that since Eminem in 2002.

What have you personally gained through developing and teaching Law (Taylor’s Version)?

In preparing for and building this course, I have expanded my knowledge and understanding of other areas relevant to the music industry, on top of business law, such as regulating AI deepfakes, free expression, and live music ticket sales. All of these are increasingly important and will also be covered in Law (Taylor’s Version).