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Los Angeles, May 31, 2025 – After a six-year legal and emotional battle, world-famous American singer Taylor Swift has finally regained ownership of the master recordings of her first six albums. The 35-year-old pop star has made this huge achievement by spending 7,434 crores (360 million dollars). The event has added a new chapter in the history of artist autonomy in the music world.
Taylor Swift shared the good news with her fans in a letter on Friday (May 31), according to news agencies Reuters and Billboard. She said that she had bought the rights to her master recordings from Los Angeles-based private equity firm Shamrock Holdings. She described regaining ownership as her “biggest dream come true.”
Behind the scenes:
In 2019, Taylor Swift's first record label, Big Machine Label Group, where her first six albums were recorded, was sold to controversial music executive Scooter Braun's Ithaca Holdings for an estimated $330 million. Taylor Swift alleged that she was not given the opportunity to purchase her master recordings and was kept in the dark about the deal. She called the sale a "worst-case scenario" due to her long-standing personal feud with Braun.
In response, Taylor Swift announced that she would re-record her first six albums (Taylor's Version). Her goal was to reduce the commercial value of the original master recordings and regain full control over her work. She has already re-released 'Fearless (Taylor's Version)', 'Red (Taylor's Version)', 'Speak Now (Taylor's Version)' and '1989 (Taylor's Version)', which have surpassed the original versions in popularity.
Importance of Master Recording:
In the music industry, a 'master recording' refers to the original audio recording of a song. The owner of the master recording can determine how the song is used—for example, licensing it for commercials, films or television series. Taylor Swift has always retained the publishing rights to her songs, which has allowed her to retain control over the lyrics and melody of her songs. But by regaining ownership of the master recording, she has gained complete control over every aspect of her songs (lyrics, melody and original recording).
Financial aspects:
In 2020, Scooter Braun sold the master recordings of Taylor Swift's first six albums to Shamrock Holdings for about $405 million. However, the amount Taylor Swift paid to get her own songs back has not been officially disclosed. However, according to a source in Billboard, she spent about $360 million or 7 thousand 434 crores. This huge sum is a significant part of her personal wealth, which is part of her total wealth of about $1.6 billion. This achievement proves how determined the artist was to get her own work back.
Taylor Swift's success is not only her personal victory, but also sets a precedent for the rights of artists in the music world. It is believed that this will inspire other artists to take full control over their creative work.
