Taylor Swift has officially regained the rights to her entire music catalogue, in a landmark moment that marks the culmination of a long-running dispute over the ownership of her master recordings.
The 35-year-old singer confirmed the news via a statement on her website on Friday, announcing she had acquired the rights not only to her recorded music but also to all her concert films, music videos, album artwork, photography, and even previously unreleased tracks. Swift also revealed that Taylor’s Version re-recordings of her self-titled debut album and Reputation are on the way.
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In a heartfelt message, she reflected on the emotional weight of the achievement:
“I’m trying to gather my thoughts into something coherent, but right now my mind is just a slideshow. A flashback sequence of all the times I daydreamed about, wished for, and pined away for a chance to get to tell you this news.
“I’ve been bursting into tears of joy at random intervals ever since I found out that this is really happening. I really get to say these words: all of the music I’ve ever made now belongs to me.”
She continued:
“And all my music videos, all the concert films, the album art and photography, the unreleased songs, the memories, the magic, the madness, every single era – my entire life’s work.”
Swift thanked her fans for their unwavering support, noting:
“It’s because of your passionate support that I was able to buy back my music. I can’t thank you enough for helping to reunite me with this art that I have dedicated my life to, but have never owned until now.”
The star went on to say the process of acquiring her masters was “honest, fair, and respectful,” and expressed gratitude to the private equity firm Shamrock Capital for offering her the deal.
In a LinkedIn post, Shamrock Capital said it was “thrilled with this outcome” and “so happy for Taylor”. The financial details of the agreement have not been disclosed.
Swift’s path to regaining ownership of her music began in 2019 after her former label, Big Machine Label Group, was acquired by music executive Scooter Braun through his company Ithaca Holdings. This deal handed Braun the rights to the master recordings of Swift’s first six studio albums, originally released under Big Machine.
Swift, who signed with Big Machine in 2005 before moving to Universal Music Group in 2018 under a deal ensuring she retained rights to her future work, expressed dismay at the acquisition. She described feeling “sad” and “grossed out”, and accused Braun of “incessant, manipulative bullying”.
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Braun later sold the catalogue to Shamrock Capital in 2020, reportedly for over $300 million (£227 million). However, Swift claimed she was barred from negotiating for her masters unless she signed a non-disclosure agreement that would have prevented her from ever speaking critically about Braun. She refused and instead announced she would begin re-recording her earlier albums.
She has since released re-recorded versions of Fearless, Red, Speak Now, and 1989 under the Taylor’s Version banner. In the latest announcement, she said her debut album has now been fully re-recorded and hinted that Reputation (Taylor’s Version) is still a work in progress.
“I know, I know. What about Reputation (Taylor’s Version)? Full transparency: I haven’t even re-recorded a quarter of it,” she wrote. “The Reputation album was so specific to that time in my life… To be perfectly honest, it’s the one album in those first six that I thought couldn’t be improved upon by redoing it.”
However, she added that both albums “can still have their moments to re-emerge when the time is right,” and any future releases will be a celebration, not a reclamation.
A master recording is the original version of a song, and ownership of it entitles the holder to revenue from streams, film and television placements, and commercial licensing. Artists have increasingly called for greater control over their intellectual property in recent years, and Swift’s success may set a precedent for future musicians seeking to regain control over their work. What began as a legal battle has become a cultural moment – and for Swift, a personal victory nearly two decades in the making.
