Taylor Swift has officially become the “owner” of all her music, thus ending a long dispute that began in 2019.
On Friday, the American pop star, who has been one of the most influential personalities in the world for years, announced that she had bought the recordings of her first six albums, originally released by Big Machine Records and subsequently sold to music manager Scooter Braun. This was made possible in part by the global success of her Eras Tour, which grossed over $2 billion in two years.
As of 2021, Swift has re-recorded and reissued 4 of her first 6 career albums in an effort 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,” the singer wrote last night in a long letter to fans posted on her social media accounts. “The best things that have ever been mine … finally actually are.”
Swift explained that she purchased the masters, videos, concert footage, album covers, photographs, and unreleased tracks from Shamrock Capital, the private equity firm that had last owned the rights.
The pop star was also keen to thank the group for giving her the opportunity to recommit to her work. “We are thrilled with this outcome and are so happy for Taylor,” Shamrock Capital top executives said.
At the moment, the singer has not revealed further details about the amount she shelled out to close the thorny affair. However, according to early rumors, the latter is expected to be between $300 million and $360 million.
The dispute in question began in June 2019, when Scooter Braun bought Big Machine, Taylor’s former record label, thereby getting his hands on all the songs contained in her early works, namely “Taylor Swift,” “Fearless,” “Speak Now,” “Red,” “1989,” and “Reputation.”
This meant that anyone who wanted to license a song, to play it in a film or during a commercial, would have to ask permission from the manager and not the songwriter.
The pop star had described the sale to Braun as a “nightmare,” challenging the transaction on both a legal and moral level, accusing the latter of hindering her career and being complicit in media bullying, especially in the context of her confrontation with Kanye West.
Her subsequent albums, starting with Lover, were released with Republic Records, with Swift retaining the rights to the master recordings.
After years, however, the 35-year-old was finally able to regain possession of her entire music catalog, and will now be able to decide for herself how to use her songs. “I had almost stopped believing it,” she stated.
The affair involving the U.S. pop star has had a profound impact on the way music rights, intellectual property and bargaining power are discussed today. Taylor herself said she feels proud when emerging artists tell her about negotiating their contracts, inspired by her experience.
