This May 30, 2025, Taylor Swift shared news that also marked a milestone in the fight for artists’ rights: he managed to recover the Rights of its first six albumstaking the Absolute control about the music that made it one of the most important voices of our generation.
But this achievement represents much more than a financial transaction; It is a symbol of endurance and empowerment in an industry where The creators have historically been stripped of the property of their own work.
“I have no words to thank you for helping me I am reunited with this art to which I have dedicated my lifebut he had never possessed so far, ”he wrote to his fans through his social networks.
How did Taylor “lose” his music? Here the context
Taylor Swift signed with the label Big Machine Records in 2005, When I was 15 years old. According to the contract, the company obtained the property of the original recordings (“Masters”) of its first six albums: Taylor Swift (2006), Fearless (2008), Speak Now (2010), Grid (2012), 1989 (2014) and Reputation (2017).
In 2018, Taylor Swift signed with Universal Music Group and Republic Records, leaving the album master recordings as LOVER (2019), Folklore (2020), Evermore (2020), Midnights (2022) and The tortured poets department (2024).
In 2019, the renowned music businessman Scooter Braun acquired Big Machine Records, and with it, the rights to those first master recordings.
In 2020, Braun sold those masters to Shamrock capital for 405 million dollars, without Swift was involved in the negotiation. This situation deepened the feeling of injustice and dispossession that the artist experienced, generating a debate on the practices of the music industry and the lack of control of artists about their own work.
According to Swift, at the time of the sale of Shamrock, they gave him the opportunity to be a “partner” of the companybut rejected her because the agreement with Braun would allow her to continue benefiting from her work.
The strategy of the “Taylor’s version“
Given this situation, Swift decided Reword your albums Under the name Taylor’s version, which allowed him to recover the creative control And economical about his music. Since 2021, he has launched versions of his classic albums, which have not only allowed him to commercially exploit his repertoire, but also dispute the market against the original recordings, whose rights still did not.
This model has been celebrated by fans and specialists for returning to the creators a part of sovereignty about their work, and has inspired other artists to reflect on the importance of having control over their own works.
Finally, this May 30, 2025, Swift made the Purchase of rights of their Six albums to Shamrock capital for approximately 360 million dollars, According to reports Bloomberg Line and other international media.
In her official message, the artist expressed with pride That all the music that has created “now belongs to me”, including not only the recordings, but also the covers, photographs and unpublished material.
A precedent for artists and creators
The struggle of Taylor Swift He speaks of the historical precariousness in which many artists have lived, who often see how their works are administered and marketed by third parties without their full consent. Recover control over your catalog not only return you to Swift the Creative autonomy and economical, but also serves as example and lighthouse for other women and artists in the world.
Albums like Fearless (Taylor’s version) either Network (Taylor’s version) Not only do music rescue, but they tell a history of struggle for authorship and justice.
