How Much Did Taylor Swift Really Pay for Her Masters? Conflicting Reports Spark Debate
just reclaimed her legacy and her fans and famous friends are celebrating.
The global superstar, who officially joined the billionaire club last year, announced Friday that she has successfully purchased the master recordings of her first six studio albums.
The emotional milestone marks the end of a long and very public battle over ownership of her early music, something Taylor Swift has been open about over the years.
Despite reports that she paid over a billion dollars to retrieve ownership of her music, a source told PEOPLE Magazine, "the rumored price range that was reported is highly inaccurate."
According to a separate source who spoke to Billboard, Swift paid an estimated $360 million to buy the rights from Shamrock Capital, the private equity firm that previously purchased her catalog from music manager Scooter Braun in 2020. The amount is said to be close to what Shamrock initially paid for the rights after Braun's company, Ithaca Holdings, acquired Swift's former label Big Machine Records in 2019, and with it, her entire catalog up through "Reputation."
At the time, Swift expressed her heartbreak and frustration, calling Braun a "bully" and lamenting that she was never offered a fair chance to buy back her life's work.
'Scooter has stripped me of my life's work, that I wasn't given an opportunity to buy,' she said in a now-famous Tumblr post. The ordeal led her to begin re-recording and releasing her previous albums as 'Taylor's Versions' in 2021, a move that fans praised as both brilliant and empowering.
At this time, neither Swift nor Shamrock Capital has yet to disclose the true price of the sale.
On Friday, the 14-time Grammy winner took to her website to share the news she never thought she'd be able to say. The music she spent decades creating is finally hers.
'I'm trying to gather my thoughts into something coherent, but right now my mind is just a slideshow,' Swift began in a heartfelt, handwritten-style message to fans. 'A flashback sequence of all the time I daydreamed about, wished for, and pined away for a chance to get to tell this news. All the times I was thiiiiiiiiiiis close, reaching out for it, only for it to fall through.'
She continued, 'I almost stopped thinking it could ever happen, after 20 years of having the carrot dangled and then yanked away. But that's all in the past now.'
Swift, whose "Eras Tour" completely shattered records and whose latest album "The Tortured Poets Department" debuted at No. 1, said the moment has brought her to tears, in the best way possible.
'I've been bursting into tears of joy at random intervals ever since I found out that this is really happening,' she shared. 'I really get to say these words: All of the music I've ever made … now belongs … to me.'
The acquisition includes her self-titled debut ("Taylor Swift") and fan-favorite albums like "Fearless," "Speak Now," "Red," "1989," and "Reputation," the very works that launched her into superstardom.
Taylor Swift is feeling the love, and it's coming from her closest friends.
Just hours after the 14-time Grammy winner revealed she officially owns the rights to her original music catalog, longtime bestie was among the first to celebrate the milestone.
'YES YOU DID THAT TAY!!!' Gomez wrote on her Instagram Stories alongside a heartfelt message of pride. 'SO proud!'
The 'Single Soon' singer has long stood by Swift, and the two have been vocal about their friendship for years.
Gomez wasn't the only one to celebrate the "Love Story" singer.
Her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end , showed his support in a subtle yet meaningful way by "liking" the post.
The post also received a wave of love from several of Swift's other famous friends and collaborators.
Sportscaster , who is widely believed to have played a behind-the-scenes role in introducing Swift to Kelce, gave the post a like. So did actress , tour mates and Gracie Abrams, and even and , two members of Swift's growing inner circle ever since she began dating Kelce.
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