In a letter shared on her website on Friday, Taylor Swift announced that she now owns “all of the music I’ve ever made.” She has successfully purchased the masters of her first six albums back from Shamrock Capital, the company that obtained them after Scooter Braun sold them following his acquisition of her previous label.
Swift expressed her gratitude, stating, “All I’ve ever wanted was the chance to work hard enough to eventually buy my music outright, free of any conditions or partnerships, and with full control.” She gave special thanks to Shamrock Capital for being the first to present her with this opportunity.
The ability to reclaim her music was made possible by the support of fans for her re-recorded albums, known as Taylor’s Versions, and her The Eras Tour concerts. In addition to the albums, Swift now owns her music videos, concert films, album artwork, photography, and unreleased tracks. “I can’t thank you enough for helping to reunite me with this art that I have dedicated my life to but have never truly owned until now,” she remarked.
Scooter Braun took control of the masters when he acquired The Big Machine Label Group in 2019, a move that Swift described at the time as her “worst case scenario.” She mentioned that for years she had “asked” and “pleaded” for a chance to claim ownership of her work, but Big Machine proposed that she could “earn” back the rights to one album for each new one she produced.
In 2020, Braun sold the masters to Shamrock Capital for approximately $360 million, which is reported to be “relatively close” to what Swift paid to regain them, according to Billboard.
In a statement, Braun conveyed, “I am happy for her.”
Update, May 30th: Added statement from Scooter Braun.
