Latest news with #Reputation
1News
26 minutes ago
- Entertainment
- 1News
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.
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Taylor Swift drops 7 major updates on Reputation and music masters; paid jaw-dropping amount
Taylor Swift managed to achieve something that many musicians struggle with their entire lives. In a dramatic business move, the pop star has regained control of her music catalogue that was first released via Big Machine Records. Those 'masters,' which were sold and re-sold behind her back, the Cruel Summer singer finally purchased from Shamrock Capital. She broke her social media silence with a long handwritten note addressed to her fans, which may have left some disappointed because even after a long wait and several teases, Reputation (Taylor's Version) is nowhere near being released soon. Swift is aware of the buzz and plans to re-release Reputation, and her debut album, but she's not rushing it. Also read: Taylor Swift buys back rights to all her music, including first six albums 'To say this is my greatest dream come true is actually being pretty reserved about it,' Swift said in a letter posted on her Instagram handle. Thanking the first company that chose to play it fair and extended Swift's team an offer to buy her masters, she added, 'All I've ever wanted was the opportunity to work hard enough to be able one day to purchase my music outright — with no strings attached, no partnership, with full autonomy. I will be forever grateful to everyone at Shamrock Capital for being the first people to ever offer this to me.' Owning your masters means you fully control your music — how it's used, where it's played, and how much money you earn from it. Earlier, the pop star had to seek permission to use those songs or even sample them in her new music without permission from whoever owned those masters. Taylor started re-recording her old albums a few years ago after nearly giving up hope of repurchasing the masters. She created new versions of the same songs, which she has 100 percent control over. However, the singer added that this recent move won't stop her from releasing more of Taylor's Version, and she plans to re-release her Reputation album and her first debut album the same way. You'll see two versions of her early albums in the market. Also read: Taylor Swift exits court drama as Justin Baldoni unexpectedly backs out; Blake Lively cheers end of 'harassing' subpoena The 14-time Grammy winner has already released several Taylor's Versions, but the last two albums, 'Reputation' and her debut self-titled album, haven't come out yet. 'I know, I know. What about Rep TV?' Swift wrote in her letter. 'Full transparency: I haven't even re-recorded a quarter of it. The Reputation album was so specific to that time in my life, and I kept hitting a stopping point when I tried to remake it,' she added. Swift listed all the intense feelings that came with that album: rebellion, the feeling of wanting people to truly get her, but also feeling like they never really did, hope, embarrassment and boldness, all those factors that shaped that era. While penning her emotions, Swift made it clear that out of all her previous six albums, she feels Reputation is the one that never needed a redo, and thus, the wait. Not the songs, not the photos, not even the music videos. Everything about it felt complete to her. Because of that, she kept delaying the re-recording. ' There will be a time (if you're into the idea) for the unreleased vault tracks from that album to hatch,' she wrote. So, even though Taylor hasn't dropped Reputation, she is definitely working on it. Back in August 2023, a sneak peek of her re-recorded version of 'Look What You Made Me Do' debuted in the show Wilderness and then again in Apple TV+'s docuseries The Dynasty: New England Patriots. Recently, it also made its way into The Handmaid's Tale While fans might be a little disappointed about the Reputation delay, Swift revealed she's already fully re-recorded her first-ever album, her debut, and she's happy with how it sounds now. 'Those two albums can still have their moments to re-emerge when the time is right, if that would be something you guys would be excited about. 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's whole re-recording journey started in 2019, when Scooter Braun bought the rights to all her old music from her former label, Big Machine Records. Fans have long wondered if Swift ever got a tattoo, and she cleverly dropped the answer in her handwritten note when she said, 'My first tattoo just might be a huge shamrock in the middle of my forehead,' giving a shoutout to the music company. Though the exact amount of money was not disclosed, Swift did say that she acquired those for an exceptionally fair amount. According to Billboard sources (Taylor Swift, Fearless, Speak Now, Red, 1989, and Reputation), Swift's deal for the six albums was around $360 million, which is pretty close to what the private equity firm paid for them in 2020.
Eyewitness News
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- 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.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
No more Reputation Taylor's Version—Taylor Swift backs away from ‘Reputation' re-recording, fans accuse her of stalling
Taylor Swift has revealed the delay of 'Reputation (Taylor's Version) (Getty Images) Taylor Swift has finally confessed why Reputation (Taylor's Version) is nowhere in sight — and her reasons are stirring debate. In a surprising admission, she revealed she's barely started the re-recording, calling the album too raw to revisit. Swifties are split: is it artistic integrity, or emotional avoidance? Taylor Swift opens up about delay in 'Reputation (Taylor's Version)' and shares update on debut album re-recording Taylor Swift has finally broken her silence about the much-anticipated Reputation (Taylor's Version) — and her reasons for the delay are more personal than fans might have expected. In a heartfelt letter to her fans released on May 30, Swift shared a major milestone in her music career: she now owns all of her recordings after buying them back from Shamrock Capital. 'I can't thank you enough for helping to reunite me with this art that I have dedicated my life to, but never owned until now,' she wrote, celebrating her long-fought battle for artistic ownership. Why Reputation TV hasn't dropped yet — and it's not what fans expected For fans eagerly awaiting Reputation (Taylor's Version), Swift offered full transparency: 'I haven't even re-recorded a quarter of it.' She admitted that revisiting the emotional weight behind her 2017 album has been challenging. 'The Reputation album was so specific to that time in my life, and I kept hitting a stopping point when I tried to remake it,' she explained. Swift went on to say, 'To be perfectly honest, it's the one album in those first 6 that I thought couldn't be improved upon by redoing it. Not the music, or photos, or videos. So I kept putting it off.' This confession puts the brakes on fan theories about an imminent 'Debutation' — a term coined by Swifties for the joint release of Reputation TV and Taylor Swift TV, her debut album re-recording. While neither release appears to be coming soon, Swift did confirm that her debut album is fully re-recorded and 'I really love how it sounds now.' A vault full of promise and a shift in tone moving forward Swift teased that unreleased vault tracks from Reputation may still see the light of day: 'There will be a time (if you're into the idea) for the unreleased Vault tracks from that album to hatch.' But this time, she emphasizes, any release won't come from a place of longing or sadness. 'It will just be a celebration now.' Her journey has already changed the music industry, inspiring artists to push for ownership of their masters. '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.' Also Read: Taylor Swift ditches Travis Kelce for glamorous solo night out in NYC — is trouble brewing before the ring? Taylor Swift's artistic autonomy marks not just a win for her, but a cultural shift in music ownership — one that continues to unfold, even if Reputation has to wait a little longer.
The Star
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Star
'My greatest dream' - Taylor Swift buys back rights to old music
Taylor Swift performs on stage during 'The Eras Tour' at the Hard Rock stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, October 18, 2024. Swift, who has been publicly feuding with record executives since 2019 over the rights to her early music, now owns her entire catalogue, she said on her website May 30, 2025. — Photo: CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP 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. Taylor Swift performs at Wembley Stadium as part of her Eras Tour June 21, 2024, in London. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP, File) 'This fight' "The situation left Swift publicly incensed: I just feel that artistes should own their work," she said in 2019. "She's a vocal advocate for artistes' 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, US$2bil 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 artiste 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. – AFP
