The time that many Taylor Swift fans have been waiting for has arrived – she’s reportedly free to re-record her first five albums.
ICYMI, back in July 2019, Taylor and Scooter Braun got into a very public feud after Scooter bought the rights to her old records, among many others, as part of a business deal with Taylor’s old label, Big Machine Records.
“This is my worst case scenario. This is what happens when you sign a deal at fifteen to someone for whom the term ‘loyalty’ is clearly just a contractual concept. And when that man says ‘Music has value,’ he means its value is beholden to men who had no part in creating it,” she wrote.
She also said that she only found out about the deal when it was online – something Big Machine Label officials have disputed.
The whole issue blew up when celebrities began publicly taking sides in the whole Taylor Swift-Scooter Braun drama, with Justin, Demi and other celebs speaking out in support of Scooter while other stars like Cara Delevingne, Halsey, Todrick Hall and more backed Taylor. Kelly Clarkson even encouraged Taylor to re-record her songs so she could own the masters.
The “ME!” singer has since announced that she’s re-recording her masters next year.
“My contract says that starting November 2020, so next year, I can record albums one through five all over again, so I’m very excited about it,” she said on Good Morning America during an appearance to promote her seventh album Lover. “I just think that artists deserve to own their work. I just feel very passionately about that.”
Taylor’s fans kicked off the month of November by celebrating the songstress’ new level of freedom over the owning her music, turning #TaylorIsFree into a trending topic on Twitter over the weekend.
“NOVEMBER IS HERE! This is the month I’ve been most looking forward to since like July/August last year and I’m so excited!!! Taylor can re-record 🥺 #TaylorIsFree TAYLOR IS FREE,” one Twitter user wrote.
“The whole world was waiting for this moment #TaylorIsFree,” another tweeted.
“THE BEST PEOPLE IN LIFE ARE FREE #TaylorIsFree,” another shared.
“The whole year felt like a whirlwind and now finally TAYLOR IS FREE. We all will be deleting all of her old music from our playlists and apps and will only be streaming Taylor’s art owned by Taylor,” one person declared. “That’s it. #TaylorIsFree”
But why is it such a big deal?
From a business perspective, Taylor re-recording her first five albums – Taylor Swift, Fearless, Speak Now, Red, and 1989 – could potentially undercut any profits Scooter Braun would gain off the original masters. The unprecedented move could also potentially impact music rights ownership in the industry.
