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Swiftie Alert: Does Taylor Swift Officially Own the Rights to All Her Music?

Music & Podcasts

June 01, 2025

It's official: Taylor Swift finally owns all of her music. On the 29th of May, the pop megastar announced that she purchased the master recordings of her first six "stolen albums" in a letter to fans.

Image Credit: Stephen Mease from Unsplash

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The 6-Year Music Ownership Saga

In 2019, Scooter Braun and his company Ithaca Holdings purchased the rights to Swift's first six albums (Taylor Swift, Fearless, Speak Now, Red, 1989, and Reputation) following the end of her contract with record label Big Machine Records.

This led to bad blood between Braun and Swift, especially since he had allegedly bullied Swift as an entertainment executive, and she had not been given the opportunity to buy the rights to her music herself.

As a result, Swift began re-recording her albums with the subtitle (Taylor's Version) to devalue the original, "stolen" albums. She released Fearless (Taylor's Version) and Red (Taylor's Version) in 2021, followed by Speak Now (Taylor's Version) and 1989 (Taylor's Version) in 2023.

Image Credit: iHeartRadioCA from Wikimedia Commons

Take the Quiz: Which song from Reputation by Taylor Swift should you listen to?

With the frenzy around Reputation (Taylor's Version), let's see which song you should check out from the album!

What did Taylor's letter say?

Published on her website and promoted on her Instagram Story, Swift's heartfelt letter proclaimed that her "entire life's work" now belonged to her, calling this her "greatest dream come true". She also wrote that the remaining two re-recordings, Taylor Swift and Reputation can "still have their moments to re-emerge when the time is right".

Another pivotal part of this letter was about the impacts of this momentous purchase on the music industry as a whole. Swift wrote that this saga has "reignited [conversations] within [her] industry between artists and fans".

You can read the full letter here.

Impact on Reputation (Taylor's Version)

Swifties can stop clowning now: the highly-anticipated Reputation (Taylor's Version) won't be coming anytime soon. In spite of Look What You Made Me Do (Taylor's Version) being featured in an episode of the latest season of The Handmaid's Tale, Swift revealed that she is yet to re-record most of the album.

We may still get this album in the future, but for now, it seems more like that we will get a compilation of Vault Tracks (her unreleased songs) from the Reputation Era — perhaps on a deluxe version of Reputation?

Image Credit: Rosa Rafael from Unsplash

Impact on Taylor Swift (Taylor's Version)

Many fans predicted that the re-recording of Swift's debut album would be the last one to be released, but this seems not to be the case. Swift wrote in her letter that she has "already completely re-recorded" the album and is "really happy with how it sounds".

It seems that Taylor Swift (Taylor's Version) is certainly on the horizon! It will be interesting to see whether or not Swift will go back to her country accent for this re-recording.

Conclusion

Regardless of the impact this incredible purchase will have on Swift's next albums, it is undeniable that this event will go down in music history, shaping the fight for artists' rights for years to come.

So many young music artists are coerced into signing contracts that do not give them rights over their work, which is unfair and unethical. Swift taking this matter into her own hands is sure to inspire other artists to do the same, and will hopefully spark some change among record labels.

Until then, feel enchanted by the original versions of Swift's music, knowing that they are in the right hands!

Mehela Ram
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Writer since Dec, 2024 · 23 published articles

Mehela Ram (she/her) is a high school student and aspiring journalist from Perth, Western Australia who is passionate about politics, book censorship, and travel. When she's not writing stories or watching late night talk shows, you can find her curled up with a good book, a strong cup of coffee, and music blasting from her headphones.

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