Taylor Swift celebrates her emotional victory after buying back the master recordings to her first six albums, ending years-long music battle.
Taylor Swift has officially reclaimed ownership of her first six albums, marking the end of a highly publicized and emotionally charged battle over the rights to her music. The superstar singer-songwriter announced the news in a heartfelt message posted to her official website, telling fans, “All of the music I’ve ever made now belongs to me.”
Taylor Swift, who has long fought to regain control of her catalogue, said the moment was overwhelming. “I’ve been bursting into tears of joy… ever since I found out this is really happening,” she wrote, adding that for two decades, the dream of owning her work had seemed like a distant hope. “To say this is my greatest dream come true is actually being pretty reserved about it.”
The saga began in 2019 when music manager Scooter Braun purchased Swift’s former label, Big Machine Records. That deal gave Braun ownership of Taylor Swift’s masters for her albums Taylor Swift, Fearless, Speak Now, Red, 1989, and Reputation. Taylor Swift strongly opposed the sale, citing Braun’s past involvement with Kanye West—a former client—as part of what she called “manipulative bullying” against her.
Her frustration also stemmed from being denied the chance to purchase her own recordings. “I spent 10 years of my life trying rigorously to purchase my masters outright and was then denied that opportunity,” she previously told Billboard, calling the situation “toxic” and criticizing Braun’s actions as emblematic of male privilege in the music industry.
Following Braun’s sale of the masters to Shamrock Holdings in 2020, Swift opted to take matters into her own hands by re-recording her albums. These re-releases, dubbed “Taylor’s Versions,” began in 2021 and have included Fearless, Red, Speak Now, and 1989, featuring remastered tracks and vault songs.
In her announcement, Taylor Swift shared that re-recording Reputation had proved difficult, noting that the album was a deeply personal snapshot of a turbulent time in her life. “To be perfectly honest, it’s the one album in those first six that I thought couldn’t be improved by re-doing it… so I kept putting it off,” she admitted. Although fans recently heard a snippet of the Reputation single “Look What You Made Me Do” on The Handmaid’s Tale, Swift hinted a full re-recording may be delayed or even shelved. However, she promised to release vault tracks from that era if fans are “into the idea.”
She also confirmed that she has completed a new version of her debut album Taylor Swift, and is pleased with how it turned out. “Those two albums can still have their moments to re-emerge when the time is right,” she added, noting any future releases would come “from a place of celebration.”
Ownership of a master recording gives the artist control over how songs are used, from streaming and reissues to placement in films and commercials. Until now, Taylor Swift retained only publishing rights. With this purchase, she now has full control of her original recordings as well.
The exact cost of reacquiring the masters has not been disclosed. The catalogue previously sold for $300 million in 2020, but reports suggesting Taylor Swift paid up to $1 billion have been deemed inaccurate by the BBC.
The battle for her music inspired Swift’s highly successful Eras Tour, which grossed over $2 billion between 2023 and 2024. Taylor Swift said that success made it financially possible to reclaim her work, and she credited her fans for fueling her journey.
“Every single bit of it counted, and ended us up here,” she said. “Every time a new artist tells me they negotiated to own their master recordings in their record contract because of this fight, I’m reminded of how important it was for all of this to happen.”
