Dairy Queen Puts the Freeze On Indie Artist's New Single

Zaq Baker; photo by Francis Emil Johnson

Zaq Baker released his new single “Dairy Queen” (or at least as it was formerly known) and it didn’t take long before a lot of folks had noticed…including Dairy Queen, Inc. In fact, the song was removed from all platforms by DQ’s legal team almost immediately upon discovery. 

The title is technically a trademark violation, so it makes sense, right? Well, possibly—except for the vast inconsistency of how these kinds of intellectual property laws are enforced in music. A quick Google search will yield you hundreds, even thousands, of songs with copyright infringing titles and themes that go untouched. So why was this song singled out? 

We had a chance to sit down and speak with Zaq, the Minneapolis-based songwriter who found himself in the middle of it all. Read the full interview below:

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Q: So what’s the scoop? You released your new single “Dairy Queen” (now known as “Molly’s Song”), people were digging it, and next thing you know, you’re getting emails from Dairy Queen’s attorneys. What exactly went down?

Just about! I released “Dairy Queen” on November 11 , 2021, and people were digging it. Fans,

both current and new, listened to the song over 3,000 times, which is a big deal for me.

Sadly, I never actually received an email from Dairy Queen Corporate or their legal department. Rather, at 10:30 one early December morning, I received a support email from DistroKid (the service many artists use to make our catalogues available to fans on Spotify, Apple Music and all the rest) informing me that DistroKid had “received a take down” for the song. By noon, my original song was removed from Spotify.

DistroKid’s automated email indicated one Senior Paralegal of Litigation & Trademarks at International Dairy Queen, Inc., as the claimant, and included her email address. I sent her a very thoughtful email explaining, foremost, my very keen interest in resolving the issue; as well as the original nature of the song — plus the total lack of position the song expresses regarding Dairy Queen Corporate. My subject line was “Resolution and Collaboration.”

Q: Were you nervous of any potential recourse from the ordeal? Or were they pretty friendly through the whole thing?

It was hard to be nervous of any potential recourse, since the most important thing — fan access to my original music — had already been taken away from me.

I spent the first three days after the claim researching U.S. trademark law, which helped. I also spoke with a very helpful, very open, no-BS attorney. After several days with no response from the paralegal, I tried reaching her by phone, but the administrative staff at ADQ said they couldn’t, or wouldn’t, put me through to her extension. Once the automated menu got me to her voicemail, I left two messages there. A week later, she finally emailed me back.

I’d call that approach unfriendly, or at least cold. (They’re ice cream people, aren’t they?) The situation also started unfriendly: ADQ had my original music deleted in lieu of sending a cease and desist or reaching out to me directly. So they made themselves totally unapproachable. I do find that hurtful. ADQ could easily have taken a different route, given that they had already tracked me down on social media.

After that full week delay, the paralegal’s eventual email response contained clear action items to appease ADQ... by removing the song from Spotify. This request was mystifying, as ADQ had already had the song taken down of their own accord. They also said I needed to remove all instances of the album cover, which featured me posed in front of a vintage Dairy Queen sign, from Instagram and Twitter, before they would consider the claim resolved.

Zaq Baker; photo by Francis Emil Johnson

Q: You re-released the song with a new title and new artwork, so there must’ve been some kind of resolution. What did you have to do to get it back on the platforms?

Yep! The paralegal from ADQ promised she’d send a letter of resolution once I’d complied with the franchise’ requests. She was true to her word. Way before that assurance, on the day of the claim, hoping for resolution from the start, I reached out to the photographer who’d done the initial album cover and asked that we replace the vintage Dairy Queen sign with text of the new title I’d devised so we would be ready to resolve and reupload. The title:

“Molly’s Song (The Woes of Marketing for an American National Dairy Farming Subsidiary Best Known for Exporting Dairy Products, e.g., Milk, Cottage Cheese, Yogurt, Novelties and Other Varieties)”

I was able to retain the ISRC code (metadata, stream count, digital effluvium) from the original upload — same song, different title and cover artwork — with DistroKid.

Q: There’s a literal ocean of released music that contains product or brand names— a quick Google search pulls up lists of hundreds (“Busting Up A Starbucks” by Mike Doughty is a quick example). Why do you think yours was singled out?

Zaq Baker; photo by Francis Emil Johnson

I really, really, really don’t think my song was “singled out.” My expectation has always been that ADQ has some automated bot trawling the Internet for instances of their own brand name and trademarked products. (The attorney with whom I conferred on day two or three echoed this sentiment. He used the word “spider.”) I’m presuming Spotify sits reasonably high on that list. I’m also presuming those couple thousand streams vaulted the track onto ADQ’s radar. So this SEO-spider-thing must’ve hunted “Dairy Queen” and flagged it as a potential infringement, then dunked the notification in some automated email to the paralegal, who then had the song removed from all streaming services.

As unexciting as it is, I’ve always imagined the issue to be a simple case of due diligence — the boring kind most people have to do at every kind of job. In a delicious twist of irony, the song is written about and for someone who is fed up with the ennui and rote crap of working within the autocracy of a corporation. So the paralegal — if she had set aside four minutes to listen to the song — would probably have found it very relatable.

Q: Now that it’s resolved, is it true, you released some merch themed around the whole legal battle?

It’s true! I kept a few close friends and collaborators privately apprised of the story as it was developing, and one touring buddy responded to the snap of my initial email to the ADQ claimant suggesting I print that very email on a tee. I just about died. I ran a poll on my Instagram story just after going public with the development a few days after the claim, and her idea garnered overwhelming support right away. I had the design ready to go and cleared for printing within a few days.

Q: Before we’re done, let’s talk about the actual song itself. What was the whole inspiration behind the song and the Dairy Queen title to begin with? And what’s the story behind the new title it has?

The song itself is always the main thing. I was inspired to write it in 2019 by a close friend’s grievances at that time. She’d been working within the same role for a U.S. multinational company — who, for hopefully obvious reasons, shall here remain nameless — for way too long. I’m glad to say she left that employer over a year ago. The verses toggle the banality of office life — and the resentment of feeling stuck there — with a chorus marked by forgiveness, spunk and hope. I’ve been told this song takes the teenagey “let’s get out of this town” sentiment to a more adult level. I think that’s fair.

I hope the title, “Molly’s Song (The Woes of Marketing for an American National Dairy Farming Subsidiary Best Known for Exporting Dairy Products, e.g., Milk, Cottage Cheese, Yogurt, Novelties and Other Varieties),” speaks for itself.

Q: Any last words? And how can readers and fans support you as an artist?

I am always releasing new music. Please go listen to it! I released a short piano-pop-punk album titled Cardio barely a year ago. Cardio features a ton of incredible musicians: A full strings section, vocal harmonies and features, a grand piano, and my consistent gig lineup of guitars, bass and drums. The follow-up five-song companion piece, Maddie’s Delivery Service, which is much more fictional and theatre-influenced, features the same expansive instrumentation. Maddie’s Delivery Service dropped in February 2021.

In addition to “Molly’s Song (The Woes of Marketing for an American National Dairy Farming Subsidiary Best Known for Exporting Dairy Products, e.g., Milk, Cottage Cheese, Yogurt, Novelties and Other Varieties),” I released three singles over the last two months: “Ojos,” “Cavemen,” “Never Getting Older,” and a preliminary version of “In Between Years.” I would love for readers and fans to listen. I’m quite proud of them.

Oh, and just after New Year’s Day, I announced my next album, which drops February 4th.

I also live through my Instagram, which is a stellar place to find and support me and to enjoy frequent updates on quotidian junk, and dumb music opinions, and puns.

Last thing — I’ve got a handful of each size of those one-of-a-kind T-shirts left! FedEx and I will get the tee to you in 2-3 days of your order. You also get a handwritten note by me. If you DM me to inquire, I’ll be more than happy to oblige.

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