Taylor Swift rewrites industry norms as she reclaims full control over her early music catalogue

In a significant update for the global music industry, Taylor Swift has regained ownership of the master recordings of her first six albums. The announcement was made in an emotional handwritten letter shared via her official website. The pop star also posted a photo of herself with the original records, declaring, "You belong with me. Letter on my site :)" on X (formerly Twitter).

Swift reflected on the long struggle in her letter: “I almost stopped thinking it could ever happen, after 20 years of having the carrot dangled and then yanked away. But that’s all in the past now.” She described how The Eras Tour played a crucial role in helping her close the deal. According to sources close to the matter, the buyback was finalized at a fair value, reportedly lower than the $300 million Shamrock Capital paid in 2020 to acquire the rights from Scooter Braun's Ithaca Holdings. Braun, with whom Swift has had a public feud, was not involved in this transaction.

Calling the moment surreal, she added, “All of the music I’ve ever made… now belongs to me.” Swift now controls not just the songs, but also the music videos, artwork, concert films, and unreleased tracks from her Big Machine era. She mentioned this includes her “entire life’s work”—a phrase she used with deep emotion.

She thanked her fans for their relentless support, writing, “To my fans, you know how important this has been to me. I can’t thank you enough for helping to reunite me with this art that I have dedicated my life to, but never owned until now.”

Addressing the much-anticipated Reputation (Taylor’s Version), Swift admitted she's yet to fully re-record it. “The Reputation album was so specific to that time in my life… I kept hitting a stopping point when I tried to remake it,” she explained. However, she did tease that Vault tracks from that era could be released in the future.

She added that this time, it’s not about sadness or revenge. It’s about freedom. “It will just be a celebration now,” she concluded.

The deal marks a turning point not only for Swift, but for wider conversations around music rights and artist autonomy.