Taylor Swift has officially signed with Universal Music Publishing Group and will work closely with Jody Gerson, the first woman to run a major music publishing company. Universal Music Group already functions as Swift’s international music partner, but this agreement will further her relationship with the company. She originally signed with them in 2018 and expressed excitement at the plan to further their professional relationship.
Swift displayed deep enthusiasm to work with Gerson, calling her, “… an advocate for women’s empowerment and one of the most respected and accomplished industry leaders.” This is both exciting and encouraging for young women, as Taylor Swift functions as both a feminist icon and a role model for young girls.
When speaking about her new agreement with Universal Music Publishing Group, Swift also spoke about Troy Tomlinson. Tomlinson has worked closely with Swift for over half of her life; she called him, “a passionate torchbearer for songwriters.”
This announcement is incredibly exciting for Swift’s fans, who have watched her deal with endless amounts of drama related to music ownership and record labels. She previously worked with Sony/ATV Music Publishing and was the youngest artist to be signed by them. Swift’s career was greatly jump-started after she was noticed by Big Machine Records. When Scooter Braun bought out Big Machine Label Group, Swift’s issues with Braun’s ownership policies were quite public. Swift said that Big Machine refused to let her own her music and would only allow her one master recording for every new album that she made. Swift claimed that Braun both bullied and attempted to control her, and that she had no knowledge about Braun’s purchase of Big Machine until it was announced to the public. Big Machine CEO Scott Borchetta and Braun replied with anger, claiming that Swift did have knowledge about Braun’s planned buyout, prior to it actually happening. She later slammed Braun while giving her Woman of the Decade speech in December 2019. Regardless of the truth behind the debacle, Braun owns Swift’s first six albums (Taylor Swift, Fearless, Speak Now, Red, 1989 and Reputation ). Republic Records and Taylor Swift Productions jointly own her newest album: Lover. The New York Times called Taylor Swift’s release of Lover “old-fashioned” in an article published in Aug. 2019.
Hopefully Swift’s expanded partnership with Universal Music Publishing Group will only do her and her music well. It seems that the new relationship will benefit both Swift and UMG, but only time will tell.
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