Taylor Swift has won a monumental victory in her ongoing battle for music ownership rights, officially regaining the masters to her first six albums.
According to reports, the 35-year-old pop icon paid an estimated $360 million to buy back her catalog from Shamrock Capital, the private equity firm that acquired her recordings from Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings in 2020.
The deal marks the end of a years-long saga that has redefined the conversation around artist ownership in the music industry.
A Long-Fought Battle for Control
Swift’s public fight began in 2019, when Braun’s Ithaca Holdings acquired Big Machine Records, which held the rights to her early music. Swift claimed she was never given a fair chance to buy her own masters and labeled the situation her “worst-case scenario.”
In response, she launched the now-celebrated Taylor’s Version project, a bold strategy to re-record her early albums and regain commercial and artistic control. Since then, she has re-released:
- Fearless (Taylor’s Version)
- Red (Taylor’s Version)
- Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)
- 1989 (Taylor’s Version)
An Emotional Victory
In an emotional post on her official website Friday, Swift confirmed the acquisition:
“I’ve been bursting into tears of joy at random intervals ever since I found out that this is really happening.”
“All of the music I’ve ever made … now belongs … to me.”
Swift acknowledged that the journey had been difficult and uncertain, with moments where she doubted this day would ever come. Still, she remained committed to reclaiming her legacy.
What’s Next: Reputation and Debut Album Still to Come
Although she now owns her masters, Swift shared that she has not yet completed the re-recordings of two albums:
- Reputation (Taylor’s Version)
- Taylor Swift (Debut Album)
“They can still have their moment to re-emerge when the time is right,” she assured fans.
Supporters have embraced Swift’s re-recordings, helping them outperform the originals tied to Braun’s former ownership and making them commercial hits in their own right.
