Taylor Swift solidified the end of an era last week when she purchased all six of her original albums from Shamrock Capital. Over the course of the past six years, Swift sparked a cultural phenomenon with the rerecording of four “stolen” albums, known as “Taylor’s versions” as well as inspiring her groundbreaking Eras Tour. The creative basis of the tour was for fans of all ages to relive her musical catalog, all while hearing never released vault tracks along with the re-recording of each album. The tour surpassed what Swift could have ever imagined, even calling it “the most fun, joyful, exciting, intense, powerful and wonderful tour I have ever done.” The Eras Tour surpassed Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour with a total gross of over $2 billion dollars. This makes her tour the highest grossing tour of all time. The tour had over 10 million attendees and performed in 21 countries over the span of five continents. However, this leads us to the question of why Swift was inspired to re-record and unleash a pop culture frenzy in the first place.
In June 2019, Swift’s prior music label Big Machine Records, was sold to acclaimed music manager, Scooter Braun, who represents artists like Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande. This purchase gave the rights to her six first albums and all media tied to those albums to Braun. This was a big deal to Swift who was now represented by Universal Music Group because Braun did not give her the option to buy or own her masters. Before getting a quote or the terms to purchase her masters, Braun’s team presented Swift with an NDA that would legally bind Swift to only saying positive things about Braun, therefore silencing her before she would even get the opportunity to buy her catalog. This was devastating for Swift as she wanted the means to her life’s work yet the deal with Braun was sketchy and formidable to sign. Braun owning the rights to Swift’s albums Debut, Fearless, Speak Now, Red, 1989, and Reputation meant that Swift did not have the right to decide how it is distributed, licensed, or monetized. Nonetheless, Swift did not sign the NDA. Therefore, maintaining Braun’s ownership of her masters for a little over a year until he sold them to Shamrock Capital for over $300 million dollars.
Swift’s feelings of heartache then catapulted her to do the unimaginable. She set out on the journey to re-record all six of her “stolen albums” deemed as “Taylor’s versions.” With these re-recordings, fans could relive their favorite albums new and improved, with new album covers, music videos, merchandise, and even never heard before tracks from “The Vault.” This appeal captivated fans, both old and new, as well as young and old. Her “Taylor’s version” tracks then escalated into a full blown Eras tour where Swift had elaborate dance numbers and performances from each era, as well as nightly surprise songs. The tour even emerged in movie theaters across the country as its own concert film. Swift responded to the acquisition of her life’s work with self reinvention and became an advocate for artists to own their own masters. Swift’s re-recordings paved the way for other artists such as Demi Lovato and Ryan Adams to also re-record their music.
This sequence of events made Taylor Swift’s acquisition of her masters all the more emotional. In a post Friday, Swift shared a thankful sentiment on her website, “To say this is my greatest dream come true is actually being pretty reserved about it.” She also thanked fans for sticking with her and making it possible, “I can’t thank you enough for helping to reunite me with this art that I have dedicated my life to, but have never owned util now.” This is a monumental moment for Swifties and Taylor herself. Her verbose statement, thanked her supporters and expressed an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for the acquisition of her life’s work. She verbalized that the acquisition was in direct correlation with the immense enthusiasm her tour and re-recordings experienced from fans. After six years, Swift finally owns the rights to all her albums including, music videos, concert films, album art, licensing, and unreleased songs. However, Swift did mention that remaining re-recordings of Reputation and Debut are not ruled out of possibility. She added in her statement that “those two albums can still have their moments to re-emerge when the time is right…But if it happens, it won’t be from a place of sadness and longing for what I wish I could have. It will just be a celebration now”. Taylor Swift’s possession of her masters ends a multi-year saga of reinvention, trailblazing, and musical expression. With Swift owning the rights to the entirety of her catalog and the conclusion of her tour in December of 2024, it leaves the Swifties to wonder what is next for the Popstar.
