Taylor Swift, one of the biggest artists of our time, just achieved a historic milestone: she now officially owns the rights to all her old masters. More than a personal victory, her journey has inspired many artists around the world to fight for their artistic independence and to value their own work. But how did it happen?
Why didn’t Taylor Swift own the rights to her albums?
Inicially, Taylor was signed to the record label Big Machine Records and as a part of the deal, the company would own the master recordings of her first six albums – this meant they had all the rights to those songs.
In 2019, Big Machine was sold to music executive Scooter Braun, who consequently became the owner of the rights to those albums without Taylor’s consent. Taylor Swift did not get along with the businessman and has openly said that she was “bullied” by him, especially in relation to past incidents involving Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. Because of this history, she was outraged when he took control of her recordings.
A year later, Scooter Braun resold the singer’s catalog to Shamrock, an investment firm founded by Roy E. Disney, Walt Disney’s nephew, for approximately $300 million. “This was the second time my music was sold without my knowledge”, she lamented. Later, Taylor published an open letter claiming that she tried to buy her masters, but Big Machine would only allow the transaction if she signed a new contract with unfair terms.
In 2018, Taylor left Big Machine Records and signed to Republic Records, seeking to maintain control over her work and ensure ownership of her future master recordings.
Album Re-recordings – Taylor’s Version
After being prevented by her former label from performing her songs at the American Music Awards (AMAs), Taylor announced she would re-record her albums – a process that began in 2021.
This marked the beginning of the famous Taylor’s Versions, through which she took full control of these new versions and encouraged fans, radio stations, and streaming platforms to use the re-recordings instead of the originals.
Between 2021 and 2023, she released new versions of Fearless, followed by Red, Speak Now, and finally 1989. Only Taylor Swift (her debut album) and Reputation are still left to be redone.
These updated editions also featured From the Vault tracks — bonus songs that weren’t part of the original albums.
Buying Back her Rights
On Friday, May 30, Taylor Swift announced on her social media that she had bought back her masters, officially gaining the rights to both the original versions of her songs and the re-recordings, leaving the fans bursting with joy – as this was long awaited. On her official website, she shared the news in a heartfelt letter:
All the music I’ve ever made… belongs… to me. And all my music videos. All the concert films. The album art photography. The unreleased songs. The memories. The magic. The madness. Every single era. My entire life’s work.
She also addressed something fans had been waiting a long time to hear — an update on the re-recordings of Debut and Reputation. With refreshing honesty, she was direct in writing:
Full transparency: I haven’t even re-recorded a quarter of it yet […] That album is the only one of the first six that I felt I couldn’t improve by re-recording. Not the music, not the photos, not the videos. So I kept postponing it.
As for Debut, she revealed:
I’ve already completely re-recorded my entire debut album, and I really love how it sounds now.
She added that, in the future, both albums could have their moment – when the time feels right.
Inspiration for Other Artists
Taylor Swift has become a symbol in the fight for copyright and artistic independence. Her stance on the music industry and her efforts to regain control over her music and contracts have inspired other artists who also seek greater autonomy and recognition. Singer Bryan Adams re-recorded his songs “Classic” (2022) and “Classic Pt. II” (2022) because of Swift’s example.
“I feel encouraged and empowered now. I’m very grateful to Taylor Swift because I re-recorded my songs after learning that she did it. She was my inspiration.”, he affirmed in an interview.
Following the release of their album This is Why (2023), the band Paramore ended their contract with Atlantic Records and began an independent journey in their music career: “All they want is to own their music. Taylor supports us a lot behind the scenes and is always available to give advice. She’s our biggest supporter. It’s likely that more bands and artists will re-record their songs in the coming years to regain their rights.”
These are just a few examples of artists inspired by Taylor’s fight.
Even after Taylor lost the rights to her albums and was deceived twice, she didn’t give up. She made history with the Taylor’s Versions, including From the Vault songs that touched countless lives — and now, she finally owns them all. Her actions showed artists everywhere that their work has value and that they deserve to own it.
The article above was edited by Luna Bahdur.
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