Taylor Swift has bought the rights to the grasp recordings of her early albums, giving her management over all her music.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “BAD BLOOD (TAYLOR’S VERSION)”)
TAYLOR SWIFT: (Singing) ‘Trigger, child, now we received unhealthy blood. You understand, it was once unhealthy love. So check out what you have finished ‘trigger, child, now we have unhealthy blood. Hey.
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
After years of unhealthy blood over the possession of her early albums, Taylor Swift’s grasp recordings lastly belong to her.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “YOU BELONG WITH ME”)
SWIFT: (Singing) In the event you might see that I am the one who understands you, been right here all alongside, so why cannot you see you belong with me? You belong with me.
SIMON: Till now, after all, company pursuits have managed the rights to her authentic recordings. She made the announcement on her web site Friday, calling it greater than a dream come true.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “WILDEST DREAMS”)
SWIFT: (Singing) Even when it is simply in your wildest goals, ah. Wildest goals, ah.
SIMON: Gaining management over her early music comes after Taylor Swift has already re-recorded 4 of the six albums, which she calls Taylor’s Variations. NPR Music’s Stephen Thompson joins us now. Stephen, thanks a lot for being with us.
STEPHEN THOMPSON, BYLINE: Thanks, Scott.
SIMON: Been a very long time coming for Taylor Swift, hasn’t it?
THOMPSON: Yeah, it’s the product of years of disputes. Taylor Swift’s first six albums got here out on a label known as Large Machine Data. In 2019, after she’d accomplished that contract, Large Machine was bought to a gaggle led by her former supervisor, Scooter Braun. The subsequent 12 months, he bought the masters to a gaggle known as Shamrock Holdings. Taylor Swift was livid. She nonetheless coveted possession of her masters and felt like she’d been sort of denied the possibility to bid on her personal work. And so she set about recording new variations of these albums herself, principally to create a brand new set of grasp recordings that she would management. However she has brazenly wished for years that she might purchase these rights and to primarily personal her complete profession output outright.
SIMON: How a lot did this value Taylor Swift to get again her personal masters?
THOMPSON: Billboard journal is reporting that she paid roughly $360 million, and that that is not far off from what Shamrock Holdings paid.
SIMON: What does it imply for an artist to personal their very own grasp recordings?
THOMPSON: Properly, Taylor Swift has all the time retained publishing rights to her songs. She writes her personal materials. That is a part of what allowed her to re-record the albums herself. However proudly owning the masters implies that she has full management of how her music is used, just like the precise recordings themselves. She will authorize their use on soundtracks and commercials nevertheless she needs, and it goes with out saying that the catalog for an artist like Taylor Swift is value an absolute fortune. It is now not a tradable asset to anybody however Taylor Swift herself. And I feel it is protected to say that her catalog is now not on the market.
SIMON: And the way uncommon is that this for an artist?
THOMPSON: There’s positively precedent for it. You understand, artists have gone again and reacquired their rights – Jay-Z, Rihanna. You understand, a number of others have gone again and gone by way of the method of buying their very own works. However she’s sort of making an attempt to set a template for different artists going ahead to guarantee that within the offers they signal, they’ve the chance to reacquire management of their very own work.
SIMON: What occurs now? Is she going to place out what I am going to name new variations of her originals now that she owns the masters?
THOMPSON: Properly, within the assertion that she made on her web site, she stated she’s nonetheless going to place out these Taylor’s Variations of the opposite two data that have not come out but. Her self-titled debut from 2006, and her album “Fame” from 2017. She stated the debut file is principally finished. It is able to be launched, however that “Fame’s” going to take some time as a result of it is the one she feels the least have to retool. So the best way she put it’s that these new variations are nonetheless going to come back out, however they will be a celebration as a substitute of a bittersweet reclamation. She’s now the only real keeper of the Taylor Swift empire. I hope she writes a complete album about how comfortable she is.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “STAY BEAUTIFUL”)
SWIFT: (Singing) You are stunning, each little piece, love. Do not you understand, you are actually going to be somebody?
SIMON: NPR’s Stephen Thompson. Thanks a lot for being with us.
THOMPSON: Thanks, Scott.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “STAY BEAUTIFUL”)
SWIFT: (Singing) And while you discover all the pieces you search for, I hope your life leads you again to my door. Oh, but when it do not, keep stunning.
Copyright © 2025 NPR. All rights reserved. Go to our web site phrases of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for additional data.
Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts could range. Transcript textual content could also be revised to appropriate errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org could also be edited after its authentic broadcast or publication. The authoritative file of NPR’s programming is the audio file.
