In a stunning turn of events, Taylor Swift has bought back the master recordings of her first six albums, following her yearslong project of rerecording them.
In a photo on Instagram, Taylor sits surrounded by the vinyl versions of those six albums — her self-titled debut, Fearless, Speak Now, Red, 1989 and Reputation. The caption reads, “You belong with me” and directs fans to a letter on her website.
“I’ve been bursting into tears of joy at random intervals ever since I found out that this is really happening,” she writes. “I really get to say these words: All of the music I’ve ever made … now belongs … to me.”
She then specifies that the deal also includes all her videos, concert films, album art, photography, unreleased songs — as she puts it, “The memories. The magic. The madness. Every single era. My entire life’s work.”
Taylor goes on to say that she was able to buy back her music from its current owner, Shamrock Capital, “with no strings attached” thanks to the support for her rerecordings, as well as the success of The Eras Tour.
She thanks the company for being “the first people to ever offer this to me,” noting that their interactions have been “honest, fair, and respectful.” She jokes, “My first tattoo just might be a huge shamrock in the middle of my forehead.”
According to Variety, Taylor acquired her recordings for an undisclosed nine-figure sum, which insiders estimate is somewhere near the $300 million that Shamrock reportedly paid for the recordings in 2020. Music manager Scooter Braun‘s Ithaca Holdings bought Taylor’s catalog in 2019 as part of his acquisition of her former record label, Big Machine.
On Aug. 25, 2019, Taylor announced her intention to rerecord her albums. Braun then sold Big Machine, and Taylor’s albums, to Shamrock. As each deal was made, Taylor claimed that she was denied the opportunity to buy back her catalog.
Taylor has two albums left in her rerecording project: her debut and Reputation. Taylor explains in her letter that she hasn’t even rerecorded “a quarter of” Reputation yet because she kept hitting a “stopping point” when she tried to do it. “It’s the one album in those first 6 that I thought couldn’t be improved upon by redoing it,” she explains.
However, she teases, “there will be a time (if you’re into the idea) for the unreleased Vault tracks from that album to hatch.” And her debut? Taylor reveals she’s already rerecorded that and it will “re-emerge when the time is right.” When it does, she notes, “it will just be a celebration now.”
Taylor concludes by saying she’s been “extremely heartened” by the fact that her rerecording project has inspired other artists to negotiate to own their master recordings.
She signs off by saying, “Thanks to you and your goodwill, teamwork, and encouragement, the best things that have ever been mine … finally actually are.”
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