Taylor Swift buys back the rights to her first six albums
Pop sensation Taylor Swift, locked in a feud with record executives since 2019 over ownership of her music, has bought back the rights to her entire back catalog, she said on Friday, May 30. Swift bought back her masters from Shamrock Capital, an LA investment firm, for an undisclosed amount. "All of the music I've ever made (...) now belongs (...) to me," she wrote on her website, after years of dispute over her first six albums, several of which she has re-recorded, to create copies she owns herself.
"To say this is my greatest dream come true is actually being pretty reserved about it," she wrote in the letter penned to fans, adding: "To my fans, you know how important this has been to me – so much so that I meticulously re-recorded and released four of my albums, calling them Taylor's Version." Those records included the award-winning "Reputation" and "Taylor Swift."
'Artists should own their work'
The re-recording power move came in the wake of public sparring with industry mogul Scooter Braun, her one-time manager, whose company had purchased her previous label and gained a majority stake in her early work. He later sold Swift's master rights to the private equity company Shamrock Capital.
The situation left Swift publicly incensed: "I just feel that artists should own their work," she said, in 2019. Before her public efforts to regain control of her work, Prince, George Michael, Jay-Z and Kanye West all also fought for control of their masters – one-of-a-kind source material, which dictates how songs are reproduced and sold – but none had gone so far as to re-record them completely.
Helped by the Eras tour
The pop star, whose recent, nearly two-year-long, $2 billion Eras tour shattered records, said that she was "heartened by the conversations this saga has reignited within my industry."
Swift's ultra-lucrative tour, which wrapped last year, was a show business sensation – and will have helped offset the costs of buying back her catalog. The 149 shows across the world typically clocked in at more than three hours long each. Eras tour tickets sold for sometimes exorbitant prices and drew in millions of fans, along with many more who didn't get in, and were willing to simply sing along from the parking lot.
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LeMonde
5 days ago
- LeMonde
Taylor Swift buying back rights to her first albums: 'A triumph of labor over capital'
Glamour, sexism and backstabbing – American singer Taylor Swift's battle to reclaim ownership of her earliest works had all the ingredients of a gripping TV series. And the enticing summary? A triumph of labor over capital. On Friday, May 30, the superstar announced she had bought back the masters, or original recordings, of her first six albums from investment fund Shamrock Capital. The amount of the transaction was not disclosed, but it gives her full control over the albums Taylor Swift (2006) through Reputation (2017), including rights for physical sales, streaming and licensing to films. The artist now controls her entire discography. In 2004, as a teenager, she signed a standard industry contract with record label Big Machine, giving its founder, Scott Borchetta, the exploitation rights to six albums. In 2018, Swift joined Universal Music, where she retained the masters of her future albums. However, her first six albums remained the property of Borchetta until he sold his label in 2019 to celebrity agent Scooter Braun for $300 million (€263 million). The buyer, a close associate of the rapper Kanye West – Swift's longtime public adversary – made the acquisition without consulting her, according to the singer. At an awards ceremony in December 2019, Swift accused Braun and his backers of representing "toxic male privilege" in the music industry and criticized the investment funds that financed the purchase, comparing the deal to buying "a shoe line," never once considering the artist's feelings.
LeMonde
30-05-2025
- LeMonde
Taylor Swift buys back the rights to her first six albums
Pop sensation Taylor Swift, locked in a feud with record executives since 2019 over ownership of her music, has bought back the rights to her entire back catalog, she said on Friday, May 30. Swift bought back her masters from Shamrock Capital, an LA investment firm, for an undisclosed amount. "All of the music I've ever made (...) now belongs (...) to me," she wrote on her website, after years of dispute over her first six albums, several of which she has re-recorded, to create copies she owns herself. "To say this is my greatest dream come true is actually being pretty reserved about it," she wrote in the letter penned to fans, adding: "To my fans, you know how important this has been to me – so much so that I meticulously re-recorded and released four of my albums, calling them Taylor's Version." Those records included the award-winning "Reputation" and "Taylor Swift." 'Artists should own their work' The re-recording power move came in the wake of public sparring with industry mogul Scooter Braun, her one-time manager, whose company had purchased her previous label and gained a majority stake in her early work. He later sold Swift's master rights to the private equity company Shamrock Capital. The situation left Swift publicly incensed: "I just feel that artists should own their work," she said, in 2019. Before her public efforts to regain control of her work, Prince, George Michael, Jay-Z and Kanye West all also fought for control of their masters – one-of-a-kind source material, which dictates how songs are reproduced and sold – but none had gone so far as to re-record them completely. Helped by the Eras tour The pop star, whose recent, nearly two-year-long, $2 billion Eras tour shattered records, said that she was "heartened by the conversations this saga has reignited within my industry." Swift's ultra-lucrative tour, which wrapped last year, was a show business sensation – and will have helped offset the costs of buying back her catalog. The 149 shows across the world typically clocked in at more than three hours long each. Eras tour tickets sold for sometimes exorbitant prices and drew in millions of fans, along with many more who didn't get in, and were willing to simply sing along from the parking lot.
France 24
30-05-2025
- France 24
'My greatest dream' - Taylor Swift buys back rights to old music
"All of the music I've ever made ... now belongs ... to me," she wrote on her website, after years of disputes over her first six albums, a number of which she rerecorded to create copies she owns herself. "To say this is my greatest dream come true is actually being pretty reserved about it," she wrote in the letter to her devoted followers. "To my fans, you know how important this has been to me -- so much so that I meticulously re-recorded and released four of my albums, calling them Taylor's Version." Those records included the award-winning "Reputation" and "Taylor Swift." Swift bought back her masters from Shamrock Capital, an LA investment firm, for an undisclosed amount. The re-recording power move came in the wake of public sparring with industry mogul Scooter Braun, her one-time manager whose company had purchased her previous label and gained a majority stake in her early work. He later sold Swift's master rights to the private equity company. 'This fight' The situation left Swift publicly incensed: "I just feel that artists should own their work," she said in 2019. "She's a vocal advocate for artists' rights," Ralph Jaccodine, a professor at the Berklee College of Music, told AFP previously. "She's built her own brand." Before her public efforts to regain control of her work, Prince, George Michael, Jay-Z and Kanye West all also fought for control of their masters -- one-of-a-kind source material that dictate how songs are reproduced and sold -- but none had gone so far as to re-record them completely. The queen of pop, whose recent nearly two-year-long, $2 billion Eras tour shattered records, said that she was "heartened by the conversations this saga has reignited within my industry." Swift's lucrative tour which wrapped last year was a showbusiness sensation, and will have helped offset the costs of buying back her catalog. The 149 shows across the world typically clocked in at more than three hours long each. Tour tickets sold for sometimes exorbitant prices and drew in millions of fans, along with many more who didn't get in and were willing to simply sing along from the parking lot.
