Taylor Swift has now moved his master recording back to the first six albums, taking control of the entire catalog for the first time. “Twenty years after hanging a carrot and then yanking, I stopped thinking that it could happen,” she wrote to fans. “But that’s all now. All the music I’ve ever made… belongs to me now.”
She originally lost her rights in 2019 when her first record label, Big Machine, sold to the Music Executive Scooter Braun. Swift described the sale to Braun as “the worst case scenario,” saying that she was not given the opportunity to buy her work entirely, but was given the opportunity to “earn” one album in a new album she recorded for the label. Her subsequent album after her 2019 lover was released in the Republic, with Swift retaining the rights to master recording.
Brown once managed Kanye West. Kanye West repeatedly targeted Swift after invading her acceptance speech, which was infamous at the 2009 VMA Awards. In November 2020, Brown sold the master recordings to private equity firm Shamrock Capital for $300 million in November.
In a letter to fans posted today, Swift said he bought her master, her videos, concert films, album art and photos, and unreleased songs from Shamrock. The Guardian understands that the rumors so far are inaccurately high that are swiftly between $600 million and $1 billion.
As was customary in the record deals at the time, Swift’s arrangement with Big Machine meant they owned her master recordings, so she didn’t own them at the time of sale. In her letter, she wrote:
“I am forever grateful to everyone at Shamrock Capital, the first people to offer this to me. The way they dealt with all the interactions we had was honest, fair and respectful.
Swift believed in the support of her fans that allowed her to buy back her music. “I have dedicated my life, but I can’t thank you enough for helping me reunite with this art I’ve never owned before.”
To regain control of her catalog after the original sale to Braun, and to focus on his investment, Swift set out on a project to rerecord all six albums, branding each “Taylor’s version” and adding a “Vault” track from the original songwriting session that was not the original album.
Between 2021 and 2023, Swift recertified her albums Fearless (released in 2008), Red (2012), Speak Now (2010) and 1989 (2014).
As a principal’s songwriter, she has the right to reconstruct the material and block the use of the original recording. Some re-registered songs debuted in film and television sync. Last week, from an unreleased re-recorded 2017 reputation, The New version of Look What You Made Me Do appeared in a new series of Handmade Stories.
Reputed since 2006 and Swift’s self-titled debut album is the only album that will not be re-recorded. For years, fans have bounced back at the colour of their outfits and what they perceived as a clue to her limited social media posts to speculate when they show up, and for years they have speculated about the potential for their release.
Swift has re-retrieved her master recording, so there is less reason to proceed with the re-recording.
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“I know, I know. How about Rep TV?” she wrote, calling the record under the fan’s nickname. “Full transparency: I haven’t recertified a quarter of that. The album of reputation was very specific at that time in my life.
Reputation – Swift has been called “a gospunk moment of women’s rage of being a gut lit across social structures” – originated from a time when her public image fought after her feud with Kanye West and the accusations of exposure.
“All that rebellion, being understood while feeling intentionally misunderstood, its hopeless hope, its embarrassment and mischief. To be totally honest, these are the first six albums I’ve felt I couldn’t improve by starting it over again.
Swift told fans he might still hear unreleased reviews from the vault track, “If you’re interested in an idea.” She confirmed that she made her debut repeatedly. “I really love the sound right now. These two albums can have a moment when the time comes again when it’s right, even if you’re excited. But if that happens, it’s not from where I want to want.
Those who doubt what she will publish records or exist in them: the intrinsic redundancy of the project is unlikely to hinder its potentially vast commercial impact. Four previously released Recordings defeated Swift commercial and chart records. In the UK alone, 1989 (Taylor’s version) recorded a weekly stream and sales (184,000) higher than the original total of 90,000 total from 10 years ago.
Recordings had a series of new original recordings being performed. Swift has released four albums since 2020. Her blockade sisters documented folklore and Evermore (2020), as well as Midnights (2022) and The Tortured Poets Degiverty (2024).
Swift’s monumentally successful catalogue was exhibited on the ERAS tour, which traveled the world between 2023 and 2024, making it their first billion-dollar collection tour, and ultimately earning more than $2 billion in total. The show is divided into album-specific segments, updated when it was attacked by Europe in 2024 and included a new tortured poet section.
Swift concluded her letter by referring to industry-wide conversations about artist rights that her saga kicked off. Nowadays, it’s far more common to own a master than the 2006 teenage swift.
“Every time a new artist says they negotiated to own a master recording in their record contract for this fight, I remember how important it is for all this to happen. I am grateful for the interest in the broader discussion that was considered industry-centric.