Taylor Swift buys back her music catalog, pens emotional letter
What's the story
In a major development, pop icon Taylor Swift has announced that she now owns the rights to all her master recordings after a long-standing dispute over the ownership of her music. She shared a snapshot of herself with all her albums on Instagram on Friday. In her emotional letter, she wrote, "All of the music I've ever made... now belongs... to me."
Details
Swift's acquisition includes music videos, concert films, and unreleased songs
Swift's acquisition from Shamrock Capital includes all master recordings of her first six albums, concert films, music videos, album art, and unreleased songs. "I purchased it outright with no strings attached, no partnership... To say this is my greatest dream come true is actually being pretty reserved about it." She added, "The passionate support you showed those albums and the success story you turned The Eras Tour into is why I was able to buy back my music."
Background
Swift's journey to reclaim her music rights
Swift lost the rights to her discography in 2019 when her former record label, Big Machine, sold the master recordings to music executive Scooter Braun. The singer has previously spoken about feeling betrayed by this deal. In 2020, Braun sold the masters to Shamrock Capital. Since then, Swift has been re-recording her albums under the title Taylor's Version to regain control over her music. Notably, after the recent development, Braun told THR that he was "happy" for Swift.
Acknowledgment
Swift's gratitude and future plans
Swift expressed her gratitude to Shamrock Capital for allowing her to buy back her music. "Thank you to Shamrock for being the first people to offer me this opportunity," she wrote in the emotional letter. She also thanked her fans for their support throughout this journey, saying, "I can't thank you enough for helping me reunite with this art that I have dedicated my life to."
Future releases
Swift's plans for 'Reputation: Taylor's Version'
Swift also revealed that she hasn't "even re-recorded a quarter" of Reputation: Taylor's Version, which fans have been eagerly waiting for. She said, "There will be a time" for the unreleased vault tracks "to hatch." However, she has released new versions of Fearless, Red, Speak Now, and 1989 under the Taylor's Version label to much success.