Taylor Swift reclaims her music masters in landmark deal
Taylor Swift, after years of public battles, heartbreak, and determination, now finally owns her first six albums.
This move is a masterclass in standing up for your rights, regardless of how powerful your opponents are.
'All of the music I've ever made now belongs to me,' Taylor announced. 'I've been bursting into tears of joy… ever since I found out this is happening.'
The saga began in 2019. Scooter Braun, a music mogul, bought Taylor's former record label, Big Machine, according to the BBC .
With it, he got the rights to her first six albums. Imagine working for years, only to see someone else reap the rewards of your creations.
Taylor called out Braun for 'incessant, manipulative bullying.'
She felt betrayed. 'After 20 years of people dangling the carrot in front of me and then yanking it away, I almost gave up hope that it could ever happen,' she wrote.
But she never gave up.
In music, whoever owns the master recording controls how the songs are used. Want your hit in a movie, advert, or video game? The master owner decides.
Taylor always kept her publishing rights, but without the masters, she couldn't call the shots. 'I do want my music to live on… but I only want that if I own it,' she told Billboard.
The price for freedom wasn't small. When Big Machine first sold, the catalogue fetched $300 million (about R5.6 billion).
Rumours swirled that Taylor paid up to $1 billion (over R18.7 billion), but insiders say that's too high. Still, it's a staggering sum—proof that music is big business.
Taylor Swift didn't just sit back. She fought back. She started re-recording her old albums, releasing 'Taylor's Versions' packed with bonus tracks.
Fans loved them. 'The success of the Eras tour is why I was able to buy back my music,' she said. That tour raked in over $2 billion (about R37.5 billion) in ticket sales.
This victory is a beacon for artists everywhere, including in South Africa. 'Every time a new artist tells me they negotiated to own their master recordings.
I'm reminded of how important it was for all of this to happen,' Taylor said.
Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1.
Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Citizen
11 hours ago
- The Citizen
‘All of the music I've ever made belongs to me' : Taylor Swift wins long battle to own masters
Taylor Swift has been embroiled in a longstanding battle with Big Machine Records since 2019, following her decision to leave the label. Taylor Swift has celebrated the re-purchasing of the masters of her first six albums. Picture: taylorswift /Instagram Singer-songwriter Taylor Swift has repurchased the masters of all six albums she released under the record label, Big Machine Records. 'To say this is my greatest dream come true is actually being pretty reserved about it,' wrote the singer in a letter shared on her website. The multi-award-winning singer-songwriter has been in a longstanding battle with Big Machine Records since 2019 after she decided to leave the label. A master recording is the original version of a song from which all copies are made. The owner holds the exclusive rights to use, license, and profit from the recording. That includes distributing it to streaming services, pressing new physical CDs and vinyl, creating box sets, or licensing songs to movies or video games. ALSO READ: Taylor Swift's 10th album 'Midnights' crashes Spotify Taylor's fight for her masters After Taylor decided to leave Big Machine Records, artist manager Scooter Braun acquired the masters to Taylor's first six albums, which essentially meant that he was now in control of all her early work; this never sat well with Taylor, as she had tried to buy the Masters from the record company. Taylor expressed her frustration with Braun and Big Machine Records CEO Scott Borchetta through Tumblr posts in 2019. Fellow singer and now TV host Kelly Clarkson advised Taylor to re-record her first album so she can own the new material. @taylorswift13 just a thought, U should go in & re-record all the songs that U don't own the masters on exactly how U did them but put brand new art & some kind of incentive so fans will no longer buy the old versions. I'd buy all of the new versions just to prove a point 💁🏼♀️ July 13, 2019 'It's something that I'm very excited about doing because my current contract says that starting November 2020—so next year—I can record albums one through five all over again. I'm very excited about it because I think that artists deserve to own their work. I just feel very passionately about that,' she said in a 2019 interview, confirming the re-recording of the work. Later on that year, the American Music Awards (AMA) awarded Taylor the Artist of the Decade award, which meant she'd have to perform some of her old material. 'I've been planning to perform a medley of my hits throughout the decade on the show. Scott Borchetta and Scooter Braun have now said that I'm not allowed to perform my old songs on television because they claim that would be rerecording my music before I'm allowed to next year.' However, the record company denied this, saying, 'At no point did we say Taylor could not perform on the AMAs or block her Netflix special. In fact, we do not have the right to keep her from performing live anywhere.' Taylor has released four re-recorded albums, known as Taylor's Versions, featuring dozens of bonus tracks and supplementary material. ALSO READ: WATCH: What to expect from the Taylor Swift tribute show Victory, finally In her letter, Taylor expressed joy in the ownership of her music after years of fighting. 'All the times I was thiiiiiiiis close, reaching out for it, only for it to fall through. 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,' she wrote. 'I've been bursting into tears of joy at random intervals ever since I found out that this is really happening.' ALSO READ: PICTURES: Behind the scenes at Taylor Swift tribute show Industry modus operandi Around 2020, when Taylor was pursuing her master's, South Africa's Black Coffee acquired a significant stake in Mzansi's oldest independent record company, Gallo Music Investments (GMI). The purchase was made through his investment company, FlightMode Digital, for an undisclosed amount. Earlier that year, Gallo was acquired by Lebashe Investment Group from Tiso Blackstar for R75 million, incorporating it into the news and entertainment business Arena Holdings. The Grammy Award-winning producer described this as a shift in the landscape of both the South African and African music industries. 'The partnership with Lebashe to invest in the catalogue and masters is more than just a business transaction – it's about creating an environment in which artists and creatives have a truly equitable stake. It is also the beginning of an industry revolution where African artists are part of structures that are fair and encourage new ways to monetise content,' said Black Coffee in a statement. Gallo owns the catalogues of renowned South African musicians, including Lucky Dube, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and Mango Groove, among its long list of stalwarts. In 2020, contrary to Taylor's ongoing fight, rap artist Lil Wayne sold his masters to Universal Music for $100 million (approximately R1.7 billion). Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and David Bowie are other notable artists who have sold their entire catalogue to giant record companies. NOW READ: Kelvin Momo releases album amid speculation about his involvement at this year's Redbull Symphonic
The South African
3 days ago
- The South African
Taylor Swift reclaims her music masters in landmark deal
Taylor Swift, after years of public battles, heartbreak, and determination, now finally owns her first six albums. This move is a masterclass in standing up for your rights, regardless of how powerful your opponents are. 'All of the music I've ever made now belongs to me,' Taylor announced. 'I've been bursting into tears of joy… ever since I found out this is happening.' The saga began in 2019. Scooter Braun, a music mogul, bought Taylor's former record label, Big Machine, according to the BBC . With it, he got the rights to her first six albums. Imagine working for years, only to see someone else reap the rewards of your creations. Taylor called out Braun for 'incessant, manipulative bullying.' She felt betrayed. 'After 20 years of people dangling the carrot in front of me and then yanking it away, I almost gave up hope that it could ever happen,' she wrote. But she never gave up. In music, whoever owns the master recording controls how the songs are used. Want your hit in a movie, advert, or video game? The master owner decides. Taylor always kept her publishing rights, but without the masters, she couldn't call the shots. 'I do want my music to live on… but I only want that if I own it,' she told Billboard. The price for freedom wasn't small. When Big Machine first sold, the catalogue fetched $300 million (about R5.6 billion). Rumours swirled that Taylor paid up to $1 billion (over R18.7 billion), but insiders say that's too high. Still, it's a staggering sum—proof that music is big business. Taylor Swift didn't just sit back. She fought back. She started re-recording her old albums, releasing 'Taylor's Versions' packed with bonus tracks. Fans loved them. 'The success of the Eras tour is why I was able to buy back my music,' she said. That tour raked in over $2 billion (about R37.5 billion) in ticket sales. This victory is a beacon for artists everywhere, including in South Africa. 'Every time a new artist tells me they negotiated to own their master recordings. I'm reminded of how important it was for all of this to happen,' Taylor said. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
Eyewitness News
3 days ago
- Eyewitness News
'My greatest dream' - Taylor Swift buys back rights to old music
NEW YORK - Pop sensation Taylor Swift, who was 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 Friday. "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. "Every time a new artist tells me they negotiated to own their master recordings in their record contract because of this fight, I'm reminded of how important it was for all this to happen," Swift said in her letter.
