After almost six years of transfers and agitation, Taylor Swift He has bought the original masters of his first six albums, initially released through Big Machine Records. As we advanced last week, the pop superstar has finally acquired its catalog (and the associated visual elements) of its most recent owner, Shamrock capital.
In June 2019, Scooter Braunthrough your company Ithaca Holdingsacquired Big Machine Label Group —And this, the rights of the masters of the first six albums of Swift– For around 300 million dollars. Swift had left Big Machine the previous year, signing an agreement with Universal Music Group that allowed him to possess the masters of his future music.
When the nformation was revealed, the artist publicly reacted accusing Braun of manipulator and having denied him the opportunity to buy the catalog herself. A year later, in November 2020, Braun sold the Big Machine catalog, including swift albums, A Shamrock Holdings. Swift confessed to feel betrayed again, noting that it was the second time that his music was sold without his knowledge and that, under the terms of the sale, Braun would continue to benefit from his ancient music.
In response, the pop star announced its plan to re-regulate those six albums; a project known as «Taylor’s version» which sought to devalue the original recordings and transfer de facto property to its new versions. To date, he has launched four re-regulations-»Fearless (Taylor’s version)», «Red (Taylor’s version)», «Speak Now (Taylor’s version)» and «1989 (Taylor’s version)”-which include additional songs, and which are now licensed for use in advertising, cinema and television.
In that scenario, it was Taylor himself who wanted to give the noticia of the repurchase through a handwritten letter shared on his social networks last Friday. In it he said that it is his “biggest dream come true”, and that everything he always wanted was to have the opportunity to work enough for one day to buy his music «No ties, without association and with total autonomy ». He also thanked Shamrock Capital for being the first to offer him this opportunity. In his own words: “The work of my whole life now belongs to me”.
His fans, known as “swifties”, have been anxiously waiting for the launches of the re-regulations of their two remaining albums: “reputation” and their homonymous debut album. Swift confirmed that the purchase will not affect or change the plans to launch the final editions of “Taylor’s version”, but also indicated that he is not in a hurry: he has already completely re-registered his debut albumbut it has barely begun to re-regulate «Reputation»since he is the only one of the first six albums who thought “could not be improved again.”
Swift attributed the possibility of repurcharging his music, in large part, to the support of his fans and the unprecedented success of his tour “You were Tour”which became the greatest collection of all time. Although the exact purchase price has not been publicly revealed, some nearby sources indicate that the figure would approach the 300 million dollars that Shamrock paid in 2020.
Beyond his own personal triumph, Taylor highlighted the impact of his struggle on the music industry and pointed out that the situation has taught millions of people, especially artists and creatives, about the value of possessing their work.
For its part, Scooter Braunissued a brief statement at Us Weekly: “I’m happy for her”.
With the repurchase, Taylor Swift further consolidates his control and autonomy about the work of his life, marking a significant victory and serving as a precedent for other artists in the industry.
