For an article on the British online news page The Telegraph, Dr. Simone Driessen was asked to comment on the ongoing battle between record label Big Machine Records and singer-songwriter Taylor Swift about the ownership of the rights of Swifts' albums and songs. Entertainment media have been publishing many articles about the issue, in which former manager Scooter Braun and new owner of Big Machine Records is often portrayed as the source of the problem.
After being denied permission to perform her older songs at the American Music Awards, Swift decided to involve her fans in the situation through social media. With Braun's name mentioned, fans immediately started to defend Swift, which in some extreme cases included death threats toward Braun.
Since ‘vigilant fandom’ is one of the research topics Dr. Driessen is specialized in, The Telegraph (UK) asked her to comment on this situation and on the hashtag #IStandWithTaylor. Concluding it to be a smart move by Swift, dr. Driessen says: “She’s very much opening up to get support and ‘transparency’ which help her image as an authentic music producer too. So, it supports her, simultaneously to making her fandom and audience aware.”
The full article is available here after a quick registration.