In a landmark victory for artist rights and a moment celebrated by fans worldwide, Taylor Swift has announced that she has successfully bought back the rights to her first six albums. This concludes a long and often public battle over the ownership of her master recordings, marking a significant turning point in her career and setting a precedent for other artists seeking control over their work.
The journey to regain ownership began in 2019 when music manager Scooter Braun acquired Big Machine Label Group, Swift's former record label. This acquisition included the masters of her first six albums: Taylor Swift, Fearless, Speak Now, Red, 1989, and Reputation. Swift voiced strong objections to the deal, citing Braun's history of alleged bullying and expressing her disappointment that she was not given the opportunity to purchase her masters outright.
In a statement released on her website on May 30, 2025, Swift shared her elation: "All of the music I've ever made now belongs to me," she wrote. "I've been bursting into tears of joy... ever since I found out this is really happening." This announcement marks the end of a long struggle for Swift, who has been very vocal about the importance of artists owning their work.
Following the initial sale to Braun, Swift embarked on a mission to re-record her first six albums, a move designed to diminish the value of the original masters and give her ownership of new versions. These "Taylor's Versions" have been met with critical acclaim and commercial success, often surpassing the originals in streams and sales. Fearless (Taylor's Version) and Red (Taylor's Version) notably outperformed their original counterparts, demonstrating the power of Swift's fanbase and her determination to control her narrative. Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) in July 2023 and 1989 (Taylor’s Version) in October 2023 followed suit.
In November 2020, Braun sold the masters to Shamrock Holdings, an investment firm. While Swift was open to a potential partnership, she ultimately declined after learning that Braun would continue to profit from her old music under the terms of the sale. This led her to continue her re-recording project and to pursue a path toward complete ownership.
With the purchase from Shamrock Capital, Swift now has the power to license her original recordings to films and TV shows, in addition to the re-recordings. She retains control over distribution to streaming services, the creation of physical CDs and vinyl, and the production of box sets. She had maintained publishing rights because of her role as the songwriter, and could veto licensing deals.
While Swift has re-recorded Fearless, Red, Speak Now, and 1989, she has been hesitant to re-record Reputation, noting that the album was very specific to a certain time in her life and difficult to improve upon. She has hinted at releasing vault tracks from the record at a later date.
The terms of Swift's deal with Shamrock Capital have not been disclosed, but it is estimated that the price was close to the $300 million that Shamrock paid in 2020. While the financial details remain private, the symbolic victory is clear: Taylor Swift has full ownership of her artistic legacy.
