In 2019 Scooter Braun purchased Taylor Swift’s entire discography without her approval. This meant that he owned her music and was responsible for where it went and how it was used. He later sold it elsewhere, making a $100 million profit.
Taylor has been vocal about her disapproval and upset over the frequent purchasing and selling of her entire pre-2019 catalogue, noting the mistreatment and bullying she had experienced from Scooter. She made her intention to re-record her masters very clear from the start, and in November 2020 she was finally allowed to do so.
Today, February 12th, marks the first release of any of her re-recordings. Yesterday she announced that the re-recording of her second album, Fearless, will be released soon, alongside 6 new songs that didn’t make the album cut in 2008. With this announcement, she re-released a new version of her first major hit, ‘Love Story’, last night.
I had reservations about the new recordings. First of all, this song was recorded when Taylor was 18, now she’s 31. Was the new version going to have the same spark that the original had? How would adult pop superstar Taylor suit her old country sound?
Turns out, it’s really good (which I’m not surprised about)! Changes have been made, but they’re for the better. She adds new, stronger vocal moments to highlight the growth of her voice whilst bringing back her iconic country twang. The lyrics are also exactly the same. Let’s face it, they’re too nostalgic to ever change.
After reading this article, you need to replace the 2008 version of ‘Love Story’ with the 2021 version. Taylor owns this edition, so she receives all of the revenues from the song.
In short, I’m not worried at all about Taylor’s re-recordings. If anybody knows how to make a 13-year-old song even better under such wild conditions, it’s her! Stream ‘Love Story (Taylor’s Version)’ for clean skin!