After years of legal fights, cross statements and much expectation from their fans, Taylor Swift achieved what he was looking for so much: to recover total control of his music. The artist confirmed that bought the masters of his first six albumsas well as the video clips, concert movies, covers and even songs that had never come to light. Without a doubt, it is a huge step in his career, not only because of the symbolic, but also for what it represents in terms of artistic independence and property of your work.
“You belong to me”Taylor wrote on his Instagram account, in a clear reference to his song You Belong With Meof the second album. And rarely a phrase had as much weight and this Friday, when the singer confirmed, through her website, who finally recovered the master recordings of his first six albums. As if that were not enough, he accompanied the announcement with A series of photos celebrating with their albumsin a kind of symbolic reunion that excited his fans around the world.
The acquisition puts Final point to a conflict that began in 2019When the musical manager Scooter Braun bought the Big Machine label and, with it, the rights of the first six taylor swift albums: Taylor Swift (2006), Fearless (2008), Speak Now (2010), Red (2012), 1989 (2014) and Reputation (2017).
“Everything I have done now belongs to me,” Taylor announced in a letter published on his official site. “I’ve been crying with joy … since I knew this is really happening,” he continued. In previous interviews, such as the one that gave Billboard In 2019, the artist had told that during a decade he tried to buy her masters directly, But they only offered him “win” an album for each new album to give Big Machinea proposal that rejected.
The tension increased when Braun, whom Swift had accused of being part of a “manipulative and incessant intimidation” by Kanye West, He sold his participation in the catalog in November 2020 to Shamrock Capital for a sum close to 300 million dollars, according to The Guardian. However, Taylor explained that by knowing that Braun would continue to benefit economically from the material, decided not to partner with the firm at that time.
But everything changed now. Shamrock Capital offered Swift what he had always wanted: a direct and without conditions, so she accepted. In his letter, he deeply thanked the company for his treatment “Honest, fair and respectful” and wrote: “I am eternally grateful to everyone in Shamrock Capital for being The first people who offered me this. They saw him for what it was: my memories, my sweat, my lyrics and my decades of dreams. ”Even, as a joke, he launched:” I am so grateful that I am considering making a giant tattoo of a clover in the middle of the forehead. “
It should be remembered that, after the sale of his masters to Scooter Braun, Taylor Swift decided to recover control of his work re -regulating his first six albums under the title Taylor’s version. This not only allowed him to return to his music, but also devalue the investment made by those who acquired the originals.
Now that Swift legally recovered its original recordings, The panorama of the regrabations changes. In his recent letter to fans, he made a clarification that many expected: “I know, I know. What about REP TV? Total transparency. I have not re -recorded a quarter. That album is so specific to that time of my life (…) to be honest, I think that album cannot be improved by removing it “. Even so, he left the door open to what many are looking forward to: “There will be a moment (if they agree) for the clues From The Vault”, Promised.
