- Thursday, June 19, 2025
In a landmark victory for artists’ rights, Taylor Swift has bought back her master recordings, videos, and unreleased tracks from her first six albums—ending a tumultuous chapter that changed the music industry forever.
By: Vibhuti Pathak
Taylor Swift now owns the master recordings of her first six albums, marking the end of a dramatic saga that began in 2019. In a heartfelt message to fans, she shared that she has reacquired not only the music but also the videos, concert films, album artwork, and unreleased tracks from the era that defined her early career.
Swift originally lost the rights when her former label, Big Machine, sold them to music executive Scooter Braun without her consent. Swift had long expressed disappointment over the deal, calling it her “worst-case scenario.” She claimed that she was only given a chance to “earn back” each album by recording new ones for the label, rather than being allowed to purchase the catalogue outright. In 2020, Braun sold the masters to Shamrock Capital for a reported $300 million.
Determined to regain control and devalue Braun’s purchase, Swift launched a rerecording project, releasing updated “Taylor’s Version” editions of Fearless, Red, Speak Now, and 1989 between 2021 and 2023. As the principal songwriter, she had the legal right to rerecord and block licensing of the originals. The rerecorded tracks became popular in film and TV, with a recent example being “Look What You Made Me Do” featured in The Handmaid’s Tale.
However, her albums Reputation and her 2006 self-titled debut had not yet been rerecorded. Swift explained that Reputation was uniquely emotional and “specific to that time in my life,” making it difficult to revisit. While she has started work on her debut album’s rerecording, she now says that with her masters back in her possession, rerecordings are no longer a necessity but a celebration. She hinted at the possibility of releasing “From the Vault” tracks if fans are interested.
Swift expressed deep gratitude to Shamrock Capital for offering her the chance to purchase her legacy outright, calling the deal honest and respectful. “They saw it for what it was to me: my memories and my handwriting and my decades of dreams,” she wrote. She also acknowledged her fans for making this victory possible, adding that many emerging artists now cite her as the reason they demanded ownership of their music in new contracts.
Her recent success includes Folklore, Evermore, Midnights, and The Tortured Poets Department, as well as the record-breaking Eras Tour, which grossed over $2 billion. With the return of her original masters, Taylor Swift not only reclaims her artistic legacy but also cements her role as a trailblazer in the fight for artist ownership and autonomy in the modern music industry.
