Company That Holds “Worship Leader” Trademark Accused of Forcing Others To Drop The Phrase
March 23, 2023
First Rogue Worship Leader…
Then Worship Leader Problems…
Then Worship Ministry Training…
Then Worship Leader Network.
Four pages so far, many claiming the same thing: That they had their accounts deleted, or were told to drop their name, because the term “worship leader” is trademarked.
Yes, the trademark is real, and it’s held by Authentic Media LLC, who owns “Worship Leader Magazine”
How This All Started
On Thursday, March 16th 2023, ‘Rogue Worship Leader’, a Star Wars-worship leader hybrid meme page posted a TikTok, stating that their accounts were recently reported and erased, after being told 8 of their posts were reported by Authentic Media, LLC.
The video quickly gained attention on social media, leading many to reach out to the Worship Leader Magazine social media channels with questions, asking to clarify how this may have happened.
Hours later, a mysterious video popped up from the owners of the account “Worship Probs” (formerly Worship Leader Probs) stating that they recently went through a similar issue, but did not name “Worship Leader” magazine or Authentic Media by name.
Worship Leader Magazine’s Bizarre Response Behavior
After sharing this information on our Instagram page, Worship Leader reached out to us directly and requested that we remove the videos, stating that they are misinformation. After a short conversation, Worship Leader confirmed to me in a message that “We are not going after Christian pages. There is room for everyone” and later confirmed this statement, stating that Alexandra Fromm, President of Worship Leader, confirmed this statement. Worship Leader later amended this statement, saying “The person…should not have been communicating”
On Friday, March 17th, Worship Leader released a now-deleted statement on social media, along with a personal video of Alexandra Fromm explaining her feelings on the situation, which has also been deleted.
The now-deleted post, in part, blamed the accounts making accusations, stating “Every company and organization has the obligation at their inception to make sure they are not in violation of trademark laws. This is standard practice. It is considered irresponsible not to. In that sense, to not only blame but smear others now for now doing due diligence in the beginning seems like a tactic”
On Saturday, March 18th, Worship Leader decided to DM Instagram accounts that had previously asked them questions with a screenshot of the trademark of Rogue Worship Leader, which included his full name and home address. When asked why they chose to send this information out, they responded “Just wanted to make sure you were aware”
When asked for a statement on their intention on sending out this information, we did not receive a response.
On Sunday, March 19th, Worship Leader seemingly deleted many comments, blocking users who shared their concerns, and posted a video of Josh Swanson, Editor-in Chief, stating that “you have been asking us to communicate more…with everything going on, we are going to start talking more, every day, starting Monday”
This post was deleted shortly after, and Worship Leader has not posted, nor provided any statement regarding the situation since.
Musicians Come Forward Expressing More Concerns
Alisa Turner, a musician who has had previous interactions with Worship Leader Magazine, commented on a post regarding the incident, saying the following:
They have mistreated, manipulated, power played, and unbelievably taken advantage of people for a long, long time. Half this town knows about it and the other half doesn’t. Most haven’t spoken up because of fear it will hurt their career or reputation. But I don’t give two shits. They need to start operating from the heart before things become permanently unrepairable
@alisaturnermusic
When asked to provide a statement on this comment, Turner responded that she will just leave things as written in her comment, and stands by her remark.
Jordan St. Cyr, who is known for his Christian hit songs including “Weary Traveler”, voiced his concerns about the trademark on Twitter:
Petition for change
A petition has started calling for Authentic Media, LLC to cancel or amend their trademark to prevent this from happening in the future, either intentionally or unintentionally.
We believe that the bullying and harassment around this generic title needs to stop. We’re not being unreasonable, we just feel that the term shouldn’t be trademarked and Authentic Media should cancel the trademark or amend it to include ‘magazine.’
-Change.org petition
We reached out to Josh Swanson, editor-in-chief for a response, and have not heard back.
UPDATE 3/28/23:
Recently, however, we have been unexpectedly swept up in a sensationalized controversy due to a number of falsehoods that have been spread online by a handful of people and entities. As a result, we have drafted a comprehensive list of FAQs in order to provide a full accounting of the facts in full transparency.
The article has been updated a few times, adding questions asked by the public. However, many are unhappy at the brand’s avoidance of certain questions, and they have not released any statement or update since 3/25
Shortly after the release of this article, Worship Probs released a video detailing their experience with Worship Leader, citing emails, documents, and other files, all which say that Worship Leader acted seemingly too quickly, taking down their pages without warning, and without allowing them time to update their branding.
Representatives at Worship Leader were reached out to for comment, and have not responded.
Christians Who Curse Sometimes is a brand looking to deepen your faith in real practical ways. Personally, I am a husband, father, and meme creator. I love connecting with real people, and showing that no matter what your story is, you can have an impact and change lives.
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