Scooter Braun releases 5-letter statement for Taylor Swift after she buys back 6 albums
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Taylor Swift has finally reclaimed what she spent years fighting for — full ownership of the master recordings for her first six studio albums. The 35-year-old pop superstar announced on Friday that she has officially bought back the rights to the music that launched her global career.
In a statement shared on her website, Swift wrote:
“All of the music I’ve ever made… now belongs… to me. And 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.”
“To say this is my greatest dream come true is actually being pretty reserved about it,” she added. “I’ve been bursting into tears of joy at random intervals ever since I found out that this is really happening.”
The victory marks the culmination of a five-year battle that began in 2019, when Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings acquired Big Machine Records, giving him control of Swift’s first six albums — a move Swift described as her “worst-case scenario.”
Swift accused Braun of “manipulative bullying” and revealed she had been denied the opportunity to purchase the masters outright. Instead, she claimed she was offered a restrictive deal that would allow her to “earn back” one album at a time for each new one she delivered.
In 2020, Braun sold the masters to Shamrock Capital for over $300 million — again, without informing Swift. The singer slammed the deal, saying, “This was the second time my music had been sold without my knowledge.”
Following Swift’s announcement, Scooter Braun, 43, told The Independent:
“I am happy for her.”
His brief statement comes as reports circulated that Braun had attempted to encourage Shamrock Capital to sell the masters back to Swift — a claim that sources close to the deal have since denied.
“Contrary to a previous false report, there was no outside party who ‘encouraged’ this sale,” a source told People. “All rightful credit should go to the partners at Shamrock Capital and Taylor’s Nashville-based management team only. This happened in spite of Scooter Braun, not because of him.”
A Strategic and Emotional Comeback
Swift began re-recording her early albums in 2019 to regain control of her music. Since then, she’s released:
Fearless (Taylor’s Version)
Red (Taylor’s Version)
Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)
1989 (Taylor’s Version)
Each release not only delighted fans but also allowed Swift to build commercial success while devaluing the original recordings owned by others.
Though the financial details of the master buyback remain undisclosed, The Guardian reports that previous estimates of $600 million to $1 billion are significantly inflated.
