In a stunning and emotional victory for artistic ownership, Taylor Swift has officially bought back the rights to the master recordings of her first six albums — reclaiming control over the body of work that made her a global icon.
Swift confirmed the news in a heartfelt public statement, reflecting on the long and often painful journey since the masters were sold without her knowledge in 2019.
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WATCH HERE“I’m trying to gather my thoughts into something coherent,” Swift wrote. “But right now my mind is just a flashback sequence of all the times I daydreamed about, wished for, and pined away for a chance to get to tell you this news… I’ve been bursting into tears of joy at random intervals ever since I found out this is really happening.”
“All of the music I’ve ever made… now belongs… to me.”
Taylor Swift
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SIGN UP Swift emphasized that the deal goes beyond her albums to include “all my music videos. All the concert films. The album art and photography. The unreleased songs. The memories. The magic. The madness. Every single era. My entire life’s work.”
The saga began nearly six years ago, on June 30, 2019, when music executive Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings acquired Big Machine Label Group — along with the master recordings of Swift’s first six albums—for an estimated $300 million. Big Machine, helmed by Scott Borchetta, had signed Swift when she was just 15.
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By that time, Swift had already parted ways with Big Machine, signing with Universal Music Group in a deal that allowed her to retain ownership of her future work under Republic Records. At the time, she expressed gratitude for her past but remained optimistic about her future.
But when the deal between Ithaca and Big Machine was announced, Swift revealed she had no advance notice. In a Tumblr post later that day, she described feeling “sad and grossed out,” saying she had learned of the acquisition as it went public. Swift also disclosed that she was not given the opportunity to purchase the catalog herself.
In 2020, Braun sold the masters to Shamrock Capital, further complicating Swift’s path to ownership. She responded by launching a bold re-recording campaign, beginning with "Fearless (Taylor’s Version)" and "Red (Taylor’s Version)"—efforts that have been both critically acclaimed and commercially successful.
The re-recordings ultimately sparked the cultural juggernaut that is the "Eras Tour," now one of the highest-grossing tours of all time. That massive success, Swift says, gave her the financial power and creative leverage to finally reclaim what was hers.
Swift also addressed the long-awaited "Reputation (Taylor’s Version)" in her recent letter, explaining why it has taken longer than the others.
"The Reputation album was so specific to that time in my life," Swift said. "I kept hitting a stopping point when I tried to remake it. All that defiance, that longing to be understood while feeling purposely misunderstood... it’s the one album I thought couldn’t be improved upon. But if it happens, it won’t be from a place of sadness and longing for what I wish I could have. It will just be a celebration now.”
Now, with her masters back where she believes they’ve always belonged, Swift’s story comes full circle.
For Swift and her fans, it’s more than a business transaction — it’s poetic justice.
