Taylor Swift has regained control of her music, buys back first 6 albums

Taylor Swift has officially taken back ownership of all her recorded music. On Friday, she shared a detailed message on her official website, announcing, “All of the music I’ve ever made now belongs to me.”

She explained that she had bought the rights to her master recordings. These recordings were originally released under Big Machine Records and most recently owned by private equity firm Shamrock Capital. However, she didn’t reveal how much she paid for the purchase.

Swift Took Action to Regain Control

Over the past few years, Swift actively worked to reclaim control of her early music. She began rerecording her first six albums and releasing them as “Taylor’s Version” albums. This strategy allowed her to own new versions of her songs.

In her post, she thanked her fans, writing, “I can’t thank you enough for helping to reunite me with this art that I have dedicated my life to, but have never owned until now. The best things that have ever been mine … finally actually are.” Shamrock Capital congratulated her in a statement: “We are thrilled with this outcome and are so happy for Taylor.”

The Conflict Started with Scooter Braun

The dispute began when Scooter Braun, the CEO of Hybe America, bought and later sold Swift’s original catalog. In response, Swift decided to rerecord her songs to take back ownership. She added new material, hidden clues, and fresh visuals to those releases, which gave fans more than just updated versions. On Friday, Braun commented, “I am happy for her.”

Swift Released New Music Alongside Rerecordings

Meanwhile, she didn’t stop creating. During her record-breaking tour, she announced a brand-new album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” at the 2024 Grammys and released it soon after.

So far, Swift has reissued four albums:

• Fearless (Taylor’s Version)

• Red (Taylor’s Version)

• Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)

• 1989 (Taylor’s Version)

All four albums debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. These rereleases became major cultural and commercial hits. In 2023, after releasing two rerecorded albums just months apart, Swift also broke the record for the most No. 1 albums by a female artist.

Fans Expect “Reputation” to Be Next

Many fans believe “Reputation (Taylor’s Version)” will be her next rerecorded release. Recently, “Look What You Made Me Do (Taylor’s Version)” played nearly in full during an episode of “The Handmaid’s Tale.” The song also appeared in the 2023 thriller “Wilderness” and the 2024 Apple TV+ series “The Dynasty: New England Patriots.” In addition, she confirmed she had completely rerecorded her debut album “Taylor Swift.” She wrote, “I really love how it sounds now.” Swift added that both albums—“Taylor Swift” and “Reputation”—“can still have their moments to reemerge when the time is right.”

There’s Still More Work Ahead

Although she has made huge progress, Swift said she hasn’t finished yet. She admitted in her note, “I haven’t even rerecorded a quarter of it.” As of now, representatives for Swift and HYBE haven’t responded to requests for comment.