Let’s go back to the beginning. In 2004 signed a very young Taylor Swift -she was 15 at the time- a contract with the record company Big Machine Records. In exchange for a cash injection to boost her budding career, Swift got the rights to the master recordings from six records to be recorded. The masters, those are the original recordings of an album or a song. Who the rights to that masters also decides what can be done with that music: from new releases for use in advertising and films to the offer on streaming services. In other words: the owner can earn a lot of money from it.
Between 2006 and 2017 Taylor Swift made six records (Taylor Swift, Fearless, Speak Now, Red, 1989 in Reputation). Her international star rose rapidly and she became one of the most popular and best-selling artist in the world, a status she can still enjoy today. In 2018 Swift switched to another record label, Republic Records, part of Universal Music Group. But the rights to the masters her first successful albums were still with Big Machine Records.
In June 2019, music magnate bought Scott “Scooter” Braun, who has Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande under his wing, to Big Machine Records. And with that the rights to the original recordings of Swift’s first records. Much to the dismay of the singer, who did not get the chance to buy back the rights.
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