| On May 9, 2025, I sat in a crowded football stadium for the sold-out second night of the Grand National Tour concert featuring Kendrick Lamar and SZA (the stage name of Solána Rowe). As I listened to those iconic artists perform their hit song “luther,” my mind turned, as it often does, to trademarks. |
Kendrick Lamar and SZA performing “luther,” photo by the author. |
I wondered if Mr. Lamar and SZA had registered any trademarks associated with the tour or the hit songs they were performing. After all, trademarks can be incredibly important for musicians and other entertainers, not only for logos, but also to protect a broad range of goods and services, including entertainment services, merchandise, digital downloadable music, and even physical media like CDs (surprisingly, over 22 million CDs were sold in 2024!). A well-managed trademark portfolio can help ensure that fans get authentic products, while giving artists greater control over how their name and brand are used commercially
As it turns out, Mr. Lamar’s and Ms. Rowe’s trademark footprints seem to be relatively light. There are two registered KENDRICK LAMAR marks (Reg. Nos. 4,595,808 and 5,076,690). Those trademarks were originally owned by Top Dawg Entertainment, Mr. Lamar’s first record label, but were later transferred to Nomo Hashimoto LLC. (Mr. Lamar has also applied to register KENDRICK LAMAR in his individual capacity under his legal name, Kendrick Lamar Duckworth, Serial No. 97,381,793). Other than the two KENDRICK LAMAR marks, Nomo Hashimoto holds only one other registered trademark: OKLAMA, in connection with Mr. Lamar’s 2022 tour (Mr. Lamar as applied to register that same mark under his real name as well, Serial No. 90,892,203). Although it is possible Mr. Lamar has registered trademarks through other entities, there do not appear to be registrations relating to, among other things, the phrase “Grand National Tour” or Mr. Lamar’s hit song “Not Like Us.” This seeming lack of registered trademarks is particularly surprising because in his hit song “squabble up,” Mr. Lamar says “IP, ownership, the blueprint is by me,” a pointed reminder that for some artists, asserting authorship and control is as important offstage as it is in their lyrics.
There are also a dearth of registered trademarks relating to Ms. Rowe. There is, however, a registered trademark for her stage name, SZA (Reg. No. 5,008,021). Like the KENDRICK LAMAR marks, it was originally owned by Top Dawg Entertainment, but was later assigned to a New Jersey LLC, CTRLCORP. Notably, Ms. Rowe hails from Maplewood, New Jersey and her first full album was titled Ctrl. CTRLCORP has applied to register NOT BEAUTY, which is the name of Ms. Rowe’s beauty brand (Serial No. 98,965,759). She and Not Beauty have held a number of pop-ups at stops along the Grand National Tour. CTRLCORP applied for the NOT BEAUTY registration on January 15, 2025, but so far no further action has been taken.
Mr. Lamar and Ms. Rowe are accompanied on the tour by a DJ, Mustard, whom Mr. Lamar famously shouts out on the song “TV Off.” Mustard (whose real name is Dijon McFarlane) owns the registered mark DJ MUSTARD (Reg. No. 5,453,901) and has applied to register his catchphrase, MUSTARD ON THE BEAT (Serial No. 98,754,903), which is uttered in the song “Not Like Us,” among others. That application was published for opposition on April 22, 2025.
Mr. Lamar’s and Ms. Rowe’s seemingly light portfolios of registered marks are in stark contrast to another major artist on tour this summer, Beyoncé. Mrs. Knowles-Carter owns at least 13 trademark registrations through her entity, BGK Trademark Holdings, LLC, including her name and various iterations thereof (e.g., BEYHIVE, Reg. No. 4,256,959). She also has 39 pending applications, including applications relating to her current Cowboy Carter Tour, such as BEYONCÉ AND THE RODEO CHITLIN’ CIRCUIT (Serial Nos. 98,480,835 and 98,481,920), COWBOY CARTER AND THE RODEO CHITLIN’ CIRCUIT (Serial No. 98,480,831), RODEO CHITLIN’ CIRCUIT (Serial No. 98,480,837), COWBOY CARTER (Serial No. 98,480,827), and RODEO CIRCUIT (Serial No. 98,513,128). Thus, Queen Bey’s trademark portfolio may soon be expanding.
Whether or not your favorite artist owns a lot of registered trademarks, we hope you enjoy some great music this summer!
