Taylor Swift masters dispute
On June 30, 2019, the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift entered into a dispute with her former record label, Big Machine Records, its founder Scott Borchetta, and its new owner Scooter Braun, over the ownership of the masters of her first six studio albums.[note 1] It was a highly publicized dispute drawing widespread media coverage and led Swift to release the re-recorded albums—Fearless (Taylor's Version), Red (Taylor's Version), Speak Now (Taylor's Version), and 1989 (Taylor's Version)—from 2021 through 2023 to gain complete ownership of her music.
In November 2018, Swift signed a record deal with Republic Records after her Big Machine contract expired.[note 2] Mainstream media reported in June 2019 that Braun purchased Big Machine from Borchetta for $330 million, funded by various private equity firms. Braun had become the owner of all of the masters, music videos, and artworks copyrighted by Big Machine, including those of Swift's first six studio albums. In response, Swift stated she had tried to purchase the masters but Big Machine had offered unfavorable conditions, and she knew the label would sell them to someone else but did not expect Braun as the buyer, recalling him being an "incessant, manipulative bully".[note 3] Borchetta claimed that Swift declined an opportunity to purchase the masters.
Consequently, Big Machine and Swift were embroiled in a series of disagreements leading to further friction; Swift alleged that the label blocked her from performing her songs at the 2019 American Music Awards and using them in her documentary Miss Americana (2020), while Big Machine released Live from Clear Channel Stripped 2008 (2020), an unreleased work by Swift, without her approval. Swift announced she would re-record the six albums and own the new masters herself. In October 2020, Braun sold the old masters to the Disney family's investment firm, Shamrock Holdings,[note 4] for $405 million under the condition that he keeps profiting from the masters. Swift expressed her disapproval again, rejected Shamrock's offer for an equity partnership, and released the re-recorded albums via Republic, to critical and commercial success, breaking multiple sales, streaming, and chart records.
Various musicians, journalists, politicians, and scholars supported Swift's stance, prompting a discourse on artists' rights, intellectual property, private equity, and ethics in the music industry. Publications described her response and move to re-record as influential measures, encouraging new artists to negotiate for greater ownership of their music. iHeartRadio, the largest radio network in the United States, proclaimed it will replace the older versions in its airplay with Swift's re-recorded tracks. Billboard named Swift the Greatest Pop Star of 2021 for the successful and unprecedented outcomes of her re-recording venture. Braun has since expressed regret over purchasing Swift's masters and Big Machine at large, and subsequently sold his entire holding company, Ithaca, to Hybe Corporation.
Legacy[edit]
Recognition[edit]
At the 2019 Billboard Women in Music event, Swift was conferred the inaugural Woman of the Decade award for the 2010s. In her acceptance speech, Swift addressed Braun for the first time publicly, criticizing his "toxic male privilege" and the "unregulated world of private equity coming in and buying [artists'] music as if it's real estate—as if it's an app or a shoe line." She claimed that none of the investors "bothered to contact me or my team directly—to perform their due diligence on their investment; on their investment in me. To ask how I might feel about the new owner of my art, the music I wrote, the videos I created, photos of me, my handwriting, my album designs."[132]
In December 2021, Billboard recognized Swift as "The Greatest Pop Star of 2021", saying she "rewrote industry rules and had one of the most impactful years of her storied pop career without even releasing an entirely new album." The magazine stated that the "unequivocal success" of Fearless (Taylor's Version) and Red (Taylor's Version) prove the widespread acceptance of the recordings, which replaced the older versions as "the ones listeners will be digesting and caring about moving forward."[133] The Recording Academy said the "Taylor's Versions" are a music trend that defined 2021.[134] Swift and her re-recording venture were featured in a video montage by Vox summarizing major world events of the year.[135] Rolling Stone listed Braun's purchase of Swift's masters as one of the 50 worst decisions made in music industry history,[136] and noted Swift's role in shifting the public perception of the concept of re-recording or re-mastering.[137]
The term "(Taylor's Version)" and its variants have since achieved cultural prominence as taglines.[138] Organizations such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and National Football League (NFL) have since used or parodied the term in their promotional digital content.[139][140]
Financial impact[edit]
The re-recordings were widely successful.[133][141] The original Fearless was charting at number 157 on the US Billboard 200 chart before the impact of Fearless (Taylor's Version), after which the original dropped 19 percent in sales and fell off the chart completely, while the re-recording debuted at number one. Ben Sisario of The New York Times opined that Fearless (Taylor's Version) "accomplished what appeared to be one of Swift's goals: burying the original Fearless."[142][143] This became a pattern: Each announcement of a Taylor's Version album caused a spike in interest in the original album, but upon release of the new recording, the original plummeted in consumption and exited the chart; the original Red dropped by 45 percent, Speak Now by 59 percent and 1989 by 44 percent, following the release of their respective re-recordings.[144][145] In October 2023, Bloomberg News estimated the value of the four re-recordings to be $400 million.[146]
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry reported that Swift was the world's best-selling soloist and female artist of 2021.[147] Forbes estimated her 2021 earnings to be US$52,000,000,[148] and opined that Swift "recreating her catalog also sets [her] up for a potentially massive payday".[21] Her publication rights over her first six albums were valued at $200 million in 2022.[149] Rolling Stone reported in January 2022 that Swift was the highest-paid female musician of 2021, owing to Fearless (Taylor's Version) and Red (Taylor's Version), ahead of artists who released brand new albums that year.[150] In December 2022, Billboard reiterated that Swift was the top earning musician overall in 2021, taking home an estimated $65.8 million, followed by English band the Rolling Stones ($55.5 million).[151]