Taylor Swift has officially reclaimed the master recordings of her first six studio albums, marking the first time she holds full ownership of her entire musical catalog.
In a heartfelt message to her fans, Swift shared the emotional milestone: “I nearly gave up hope after 20 years of seeing the dream offered and then pulled away. But now, that chapter is over. Every note, every lyric I’ve written — it’s finally mine.”
The journey began in 2019 when Swift lost control of her masters after Big Machine Records, her former label, sold the rights to music executive Scooter Braun. Swift criticized the deal at the time, saying she was never given the option to buy her catalog directly and would’ve had to earn back each old album by releasing new ones under Big Machine.
Following the controversial sale, Braun later sold the masters to Shamrock Capital for a reported $300 million. Swift began a rerecording campaign to regain artistic and commercial control, releasing new versions of her albums titled "(Taylor's Version)" starting with Fearless, Red, Speak Now, and 1989 between 2021 and 2023.
This week, Swift confirmed she successfully repurchased her original masters — along with associated assets including music videos, album art, concert footage, and unreleased tracks — from Shamrock Capital. Rumors of the deal costing between $600 million and $1 billion have been dismissed as exaggerated.
In her letter, Swift expressed gratitude for the respectful negotiations with Shamrock, saying, “To them, this was business. But for me, it was personal — my memories, my handwriting, my life’s work. I’m endlessly grateful.”
She also thanked fans for their unwavering support throughout the ordeal, noting that their encouragement made this victory possible.
While her rerecording campaign helped devalue the original masters’ commercial potential, Swift now holds the legal right to both block their use and promote her updated versions. Some of her rerecorded songs have already featured in major productions, such as Look What You Made Me Do in The Handmaid’s Tale.
Only Reputation and her 2006 self-titled debut remain unreleased as rerecorded editions. Swift admitted that Reputation posed creative challenges due to the deeply personal emotions tied to that era, making it difficult to revisit. Still, she confirmed that her debut album has already been rerecorded and may be released when the time feels right.
“There’s no sadness in this anymore — just celebration,” she wrote, hinting at possible future releases of the remaining albums or “From the Vault” tracks.
Since the masters dispute began, Swift has also released four original albums (Folklore, Evermore, Midnights, and The Tortured Poets Department) and embarked on the record-breaking Eras Tour, which became the first tour to surpass $1 billion in revenue — ultimately grossing over $2 billion globally.
Swift concluded her statement by highlighting how her fight for ownership sparked broader conversations in the music industry. “More and more young artists, especially women, are negotiating to own their masters because of what we went through,” she said. “That means the world to me. Every step we took mattered.”
Note: Disclaimer: All images used in this article are the property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended
