Taylor Swift has officially reclaimed the master recordings of her first six studio albums, putting an end to a long-standing battle over music ownership. On Friday, the global pop sensation revealed in a heartfelt handwritten note posted on her official website that she now owns the masters to Taylor Swift (2006), Fearless (2008), Speak Now (2010), Red (2012), 1989 (2014), and Reputation (2017). “All of the music I’ve ever made now belongs to me,” she expressed.
The masters were acquired from Shamrock Capital, the investment firm that had purchased them from Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings in 2020. The move concludes years of tension between Swift and Braun, who acquired Big Machine Label Group (BMLG) for $330 million in 2019. That acquisition included the rights to Swift’s original masters, sparking a public feud. In November 2020, Braun sold the masters to Shamrock Capital for $405 million. At the time, Swift criticized the deal, stating she wasn’t offered a fair opportunity to bid for her own work and refused a partnership that would allow Braun to continue profiting from her music.
Although Taylor Swift has not publicly disclosed the financial terms of her recent agreement with Shamrock Capital, sources cited by Billboard suggest that the deal was worth close to $360 million. Shamrock Capital released a statement celebrating the outcome, expressing support for Swift’s decision and her control over her music catalog.
In response to losing her masters years earlier, Swift launched a bold initiative to re-record her early albums. Since 2020, she has re-released four of them as “Taylor’s Version,” which have not only been commercially successful but also critically acclaimed, often surpassing the performance of the original recordings.
During this time, Swift has also released new music, including The Tortured Poets Department, which was announced at the 2024 Grammy Awards and became a key highlight of her record-breaking world tour.
This chapter marks a monumental victory for artists’ rights and creative ownership. Taylor Swift’s determination has redefined how musicians can reclaim and protect their legacy in an industry often dominated by contracts and corporate control.
