Taylor Swift regains control of her music, buys back first six albums
Taylor Swift has regained control over her entire body of work.
In a lengthy note posted to her official website on Friday, Swift announced: 'All of the music I've ever made now belongs to me.'
The pop star said she purchased her catalogue of recordings — originally released through Big Machine Records — from their most recent owner, the private equity firm Shamrock Capital. She did not disclose the amount.
In recent years, Swift has been rerecording and releasing her first six albums in an attempt to regain control of her music.
'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 until now,' Swift addressed fans in the post. 'The best things that have ever been mine … finally actually are.'
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'We are thrilled with this outcome and are so happy for Taylor,' Shamrock Capital said in a statement.
Swift's rerecordings were instigated by Hybe America CEO Scooter Braun's purchase and sale of her early catalogue, which represents Swift's effort to control her own songs and how they're used. Previous 'Taylor's Version' releases have been more than conventional re-recordings, arriving with new 'from the vault' music, Easter eggs and visuals that deepen understanding of her work.
'I am happy for her,' Braun said Friday.
She has also released new music, including last year's The Tortured Poets Department, announced during the 2024 Grammys and released during her record-breaking tour.
Taylor Swift attends an in conversation with Taylor Swift event at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 9, 2022. (Source: Associated Press)
So far, there have been four rerecorded albums, beginning with Fearless (Taylor's Version) and Red (Taylor's Version) in 2021. All four have been massive commercial and cultural successes, each one debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
Swift's last rerecording, 1989 (Taylor's Version), arrived in October 2023, just four months after the release of Speak Now (Taylor's Version). That was the same year Swift claimed the record for the woman with the most No. 1 albums in history.
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Fans have theorised that Reputation (Taylor's Version) would be next: On May 19, Look What You Made Me Do (Taylor's Version) aired nearly in full during the opening scene of a Season 6 episode of The Handmaid's Tale. Prior to that, the song was teased in 2023's Prime Video limited-series thriller Wilderness and in Apple TV+'s The Dynasty: New England Patriots in 2024. Also in 2023, she contributed Delicate (Taylor's Version) to Prime Video's The Summer I Turned Pretty.
But according to the note shared Friday, Swift says she hasn't 'even rerecorded a quarter of it'.
She did say, however, that she has completely rerecorded her self-titled debut album, 'and I really love how it sounds now'.
Swift writes that both her self-titled debut and Reputation (Taylor's Version) 'can still have their moments to reemerge when the time is right'.
Representatives for Swift and HYBE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Taylor Swift regains control of her music, buys back first six albums
Taylor Swift has regained control over her entire body of work. In a lengthy note posted to her official website on Friday, Swift announced: 'All of the music I've ever made now belongs to me.' The pop star said she purchased her catalogue of recordings — originally released through Big Machine Records — from their most recent owner, the private equity firm Shamrock Capital. She did not disclose the amount. In recent years, Swift has been rerecording and releasing her first six albums in an attempt to regain control of her music. '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 until now,' Swift addressed fans in the post. 'The best things that have ever been mine … finally actually are.' ADVERTISEMENT 'We are thrilled with this outcome and are so happy for Taylor,' Shamrock Capital said in a statement. Swift's rerecordings were instigated by Hybe America CEO Scooter Braun's purchase and sale of her early catalogue, which represents Swift's effort to control her own songs and how they're used. Previous 'Taylor's Version' releases have been more than conventional re-recordings, arriving with new 'from the vault' music, Easter eggs and visuals that deepen understanding of her work. 'I am happy for her,' Braun said Friday. She has also released new music, including last year's The Tortured Poets Department, announced during the 2024 Grammys and released during her record-breaking tour. Taylor Swift attends an in conversation with Taylor Swift event at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 9, 2022. (Source: Associated Press) So far, there have been four rerecorded albums, beginning with Fearless (Taylor's Version) and Red (Taylor's Version) in 2021. All four have been massive commercial and cultural successes, each one debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Swift's last rerecording, 1989 (Taylor's Version), arrived in October 2023, just four months after the release of Speak Now (Taylor's Version). That was the same year Swift claimed the record for the woman with the most No. 1 albums in history. ADVERTISEMENT Fans have theorised that Reputation (Taylor's Version) would be next: On May 19, Look What You Made Me Do (Taylor's Version) aired nearly in full during the opening scene of a Season 6 episode of The Handmaid's Tale. Prior to that, the song was teased in 2023's Prime Video limited-series thriller Wilderness and in Apple TV+'s The Dynasty: New England Patriots in 2024. Also in 2023, she contributed Delicate (Taylor's Version) to Prime Video's The Summer I Turned Pretty. But according to the note shared Friday, Swift says she hasn't 'even rerecorded a quarter of it'. She did say, however, that she has completely rerecorded her self-titled debut album, 'and I really love how it sounds now'. Swift writes that both her self-titled debut and Reputation (Taylor's Version) 'can still have their moments to reemerge when the time is right'. Representatives for Swift and HYBE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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By Lisa Richwine, Reuters Taylor Swift during a concert in Amsterdam. Photo: Robin Van Lonkhuijsen / ANP MAG / ANP via AFP Pop superstar Taylor Swift has purchased the master recordings of her first six albums, giving her control of all of her music after a dispute with her former record label. Swift's masters had been sold in 2019 and the singer said she was not given the opportunity to buy them at the time. She re-recorded four of the albums with the subtitle 'Taylor's Version'. Swift purchased the original recordings from current owner Shamrock Capital in what she called her "greatest dream come true". No financial terms were disclosed. "I've been bursting into tears of joy at random intervals ever since I found out this is really happening," she said in a statement on her website. "I really get to say these words: All of the music I've ever made ... now belongs ... to me." The Fortnight singer also said she had re-recorded her 2006 self-titled debut album and parts of 2017 release Reputation . She said she would release them "when the time is right, if that would be something you guys would be excited about". Swift has won 14 Grammys, including an unprecedented four trophies for album of the year, and recently completed the highest-grossing concert tour of all time. The 35-year-old singer recorded her first six albums, which included hits such as 'Shake It Off' and 'You Belong With Me', with Big Machine Label Group before leaving in 2018 for Universal Music Group. Music executive Scooter Braun bought Big Machine in 2019 and Swift publicly accused him of bullying her and refusing to give her a chance to purchase her original recordings. Swift said in 2020 that BMG had sold her music to Shamrock. Media reports at the time said the deal was worth more than US$300 million. Representatives for Braun did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Swift praised executives at Shamrock, founded by Walt Disney's nephew Roy E Disney, as being "honest, fair and respectful". "My first tattoo might just be a huge shamrock in the middle of my forehead," she joked.
