Week 2 post 1: Taylors version

 

Swift was a part of the Big Machine label since the age of 15 and produced her debut album, Fearless, Speak Now, Red, 1989, and Reputation under that label 

That agreement gave Big Machine ownership of her records 

In 2018 she signed a new agreement with Universal Music Group which gave her ownership of her recordings going forward.  

Swift didn’t own her old recordings and despite attempts at negotiation, she was unable to buy back her masters. 

In 2019Big machine offered a deal where if she resigned with them she could earn an album back at a time for each new one she turned in. She turned this down while Big Machine CEO Scott Borchetta claimed she had been given “every chance in the world” to own her masters. 

Everything she had produced under Big Machine was sold to a company owned by Scooter Braun. 

Scooter Braun purchased Big machine gaining ownership of Swifts masters. Swift already didn’t like him. Kanye was a former client of his who released a song calling her a bitch and a music video depicting her naked body  so Swift was furious her music would belong to someone who tried to dismantle her legacy. 

In 2019, she was even blocked from performing her old songs at the AMAs and from using songs in her upcoming documentary 

Braun then sold her masters to Shamrock Holdings and was unable to negotiate ownership with this new deal.  

However, swift figured out that after enough time had passed it was allowed for her to rerecord her old music to own it.  

This sort of move would have been impossible for a small artist to do. Because of swifts enormous fan base these re-recordings would get the attention they need to be of any use 

This also opens the door for smaller artists to do the same and break free of the toxic men in the music industry.