Taylor Swift’s triumph for its catalog is a master class for business strategy

Taylor Swift He was triumphant on Friday after a long battle for the rights of his previous music. Now he has the Total controlfrom songs to packaging and distribution, without having to comply with corporate orders. That would already be sufficient reason to celebrate, but according to reports, he bought his catalog For more than 300 million dollars. For an international superstar with multiple Platinum discs and Grammy Awardswhose net value is 1.6 billion dollarsthat is practically a bargain.

This should not be seen only as a great financial and artistic victory for her. Luckily, mark a paradigm change For other musicians, especially the youngest, and inspires them to be more Cunning in business Within an industry that has long benefited from not paying attention to the small letters of fame.

The game is usually against artists. Swift, despite all its success, was no exception.

At the end of June 2019, more than seven months after leaving Big Machine Records To join Republic Records/Universal Music GroupBig Machine was sold to Ithaca Holdings LLCCompany of the Musical Executive Scooter Braun. A year and a half later, Braun sold Big Machine Label Group (including the first six Swift albums) to the private capital firm Shamrock Holdings for approximately 300 million dollars. In the first case, Swift was very vocal about the difficult conditions he faced to acquire his master recordings (He had to record a new album for each previous one that he would like to recover); In the second, he was not allowed to present an offer.

Veteran musicians have been news in recent years for selling the rights of their catalogs for sums of hundreds of millions of dollars. Among them are Paul Simonwith a composition agreement valued in 250 million dollars; Bob Dylanwho received more than 300 million for their compositions and between 150 and 200 million additional for their master recordings; and Bruce Springsteenwith 550 million for their songs and recordings. It is also Queenwho established a record with the acquisition of his songs and recordings by 1.2 billion dollars by Sony.

For various reasons, young artists such as Future, Justin Bieber and Katy Perry They also sold participations in their rights to publication and recordings For tens or hundreds of millions of dollars, charging in advance.

The main difference between those musicians and Swift is that they benefited from the sale of their master recordings – some with 50 or 60 -year -old catalogs – while Swift received nothing from the robust sales of their own.

From now on, the 35 -year -old singer will get important profits. This is rare to your age for several reasons.

On the one hand, despite the 1976 copyright review lawwhich allows artists to request the recovery of their master recordings 35 years After its commercial launch – starting with music published in 1978 – the big records resist giving up valuable musical assets. They try to negotiate better agreements with artists to conserve coveted titles, although it would be more beneficial for musicians to possess them completely. One of the most turbulent public battles was that of the deceased Princewho fought for years to recover his master recordings, achieving him only in his 50, two years before his death.

There is also the fact that many artists, either due to inexperience or despair to achieve success, sign notoriously unequal contracts. In the 1960s, The Beatles signed a series of agreements on management, Marketing And even musical publication of the songs of John Lennon and Paul McCartney. The latter was a mistake that McCartney spent six decades trying to reverse, until he reached an agreement with the then Sony/ATV (now Sony Music Publishing) In 2017. (George Harrisonon the other hand, he wisely founded his own editorial, Harrisongsin 1964, whose catalog includes the great success “Here you eat the Sun”).

Even when artists realize that they are being exploited, the music industry Find new ways of imposing. With the beginning of the era of streamingthe records initially resisted compensating the artists for digital music, the platforms paid Low royalties And the three big companies (Sony, UMG and Warner Music) acquired actions from Spotify.

In addition, contracts 360 They have become more common in the era of streaming. These agreements imply that the record percentage of sales of albums and concerts, Marketing, Sponsorships and other residual income, such as compensating the decrease in CD income, vinyl and cassettes.

It is a way in which recordings guarantee to recover their investment after betting on a musician (especially new artists without proof of commercial potential). But these additional deductions on artists’ income represent a significant load For less consolidated musicians.

To avoid the stumbling blocks of the industry, it is no longer enough to have talent in the recording studio or on stage. More than ever, an artist must also assume a role of management.

Of course, emerging artists do not have the influence nor the capital That many famous artists, such as Swift, have managed to gather to face the industry.

It cannot be overlooked that she raised a fortune With your world tour The Eras Tourwhich lasted almost two years and generated approximately 2.2 billion dollarswhich allowed him to disburse the more than 300 million Informed. He also had loyal listeners who bought and listened only to his re -regions of previous albums – “Taylor’s Versions” – In support signal. (A strategy that affected the income of Big Machine).

But that does not mean that Swift’s victory cannot serve as Important reminder For emerging musicians and their teams: it is a priority negotiate smarter agreements From the beginning. It is also an encouraging message for consecrated artists who do not yet have their master recordings: if they are willing, fight for their songsespecially for those that remain filed. He catalog It is still the most valuable asset, which is why these millionaire agreements continue to occur.

There is a lesson that can be extracted from this situation. This time is for record Learn it. Swift’s victory may not have been possible without the support of his followers, the Swiftieswhich shows that the accumulated power of fanswhen they connect deeply with an artist, it is a active of great valuesomething that some in the industry had not planned.

(c) 2025, Bloomberg