Full disclosure: I just recently really started listening to Taylor Swift. While I do remember my childhood being full of her chart-topping hits and I’ve loved songs throughout the years, it took until college, specifically, the release of Folklore last summer to truly appreciate her talent. I vividly remember the night Folklore was released, staying up with my more passionate Swiftie friends (including fellow USF Her Campus member Alexa Hilston!) and listening to every song together. It was a night full of keyboard smash texts, tears, and overall being in awe of the surprise album Taylor Swift created in quarantine. Folklore also inspired me to journal several pages that night after months of neglecting the passion of writing. Overall, Folklore was a light during a very aimless summer, and its release was one of my favorite moments of last year.
After being a part of a magical release night, there was something that still bothered me. Folklore was only the second album she actually owned. How can someone who has created so many iconic albums, inspiring and impacting millions of listeners, only truly own two of her albums?
When Taylor Swift was just fifteen years old, she signed her first record deal. This first record deal allowed her record label, Big Machine Records, to own the rights of the six albums she recorded during her tenure with them. To illustrate how many smash songs she recorded during her time there, a brief summary of the multi-platinum singles she does not own the masters of include: “Teardrops on My Guitar”, “You Belong with Me”, “Mine”, “22”, “Shake it Off”, “Blank Space”, and “Look What You Made Me Do”.
This record deal expired in 2018, and since then, her original masters have been sold multiple times, including to Scooter Braun, or Justin Bieber’s manager. The lack of ownership Taylor Swift has of her albums is unlike anything we’ve seen recently in the music industry, due to the extent of her success and the control artists now have due to social media like Soundcloud.
To gain control of her work, Taylor Swift is embarking on an unusual journey: re-recording all six of her albums and re-releasing them. This has been a public plan of hers since her release of Lover, or her seventh studio album. In the video below, On Good Morning America, she discusses how special it is to finally own the rights of an album she’s released.
At the 2:17 mark, she acknowledges why it is so significant to re-record the albums: “Because I just think that artists deserve to own their work.”
Her process of re-releasing her songs has just begun, with the re-release of “Love Story” on February 12th. She has also renamed the song to “Love Story (Taylor’s Version)”, proudly acknowledging her ownership of the song. The meaning of Love Story has evolved over the years, becoming an anthem of the relationship Swift shares with her fans. In the new lyric video for the song, she highlights images of her with fans over the years.
Taylor Swift is also notorious for leaving clues and Easter eggs in her social media and music videos. For instance, for this re-release, the new cover now signifies the growth she’s experienced since the last release of the song, now wearing the same shirt that Romeo wears in the “Love Story” music video, being her own savior now. In fact, in the Instagram post, she also has a letter for fans. By piecing together all of the capital letters, a date is formed: April Ninth.
On April Ninth, Taylor Swift is re-releasing Fearless, the album which “Love Story” is on. There are also more surprises on this release, Swift is releasing six new songs on this version of the album.
By re-releasing her albums, Taylor Swift is cementing her power and legacy in the music industry. I am so excited and honored to be a part of the re-releases of her albums. These re-releases are a celebration of Taylor’s work. On April Ninth, the world will be able to listen to Fearless (Taylor’s Version), the way it should have always been.