Latest news with #IthacaHoldings
Yahoo
22-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
What Taylor Swift really paid for her masters, revealed
The post What Taylor Swift really paid for her masters, revealed appeared first on ClutchPoints. Taylor Swift is finally in control of her music after a tumultuous fight to gain the masters of her first six albums. Swift announced that she was able to buy her masters after Scooter Braun's Ithaca Holdings bought the record label which originally owned her albums, and sold them to Shamrock Capital in November 2020. The Grammy-winning singer was finally able to buy back her masters, but it did not come at a cheap price. According to Billboard, Swift bought back her masters for a whopping $360 million. Previous reports indicated that Swift paid $1 billion to own her music. It was also debunked that Braun was the reason behind the Shamrock sale. 'Contrary to a previous false report, there was no outside party who 'encouraged' this sale. All rightful credit for this opportunity should go to the partners at Shamrock Capital and Taylor's Nashville-based management team only,' the source told PEOPLE. 'Taylor now owns all of her music, and this moment finally happened in spite of Scooter Braun, not because of him.' In a handwritten note posted to her official website, Swift gave insight to her fans on the journey she went through in order to obtain her masters. 'I'm trying to gather my thoughts into something coherent, but right now my mind is just a slideshow. A flashback sequence of all the times I daydreamed about, wished for, and prayed away for a chance to get to tell you this news. All the times I was thisssss close, reaching out for it, only for it to fall through. I almost stopped thinking it could ever happen, after 20 years of having the carrot dangled and then yanked away. But that's all in the past now. I've been bursting into tears of joy at random intervals ever since I found out that this is really happening. I really get to say these words: All of the music I've ever made… now belongs to me.' By buying her masters, she was able to gain ownership of albums: Taylor Swift, 1989, Reputation, Red, Speak Now, and Fearless. She added: 'To say this is my greatest dream come true is actually being pretty casual about it. To my fans, you know how important this has been to me—so much so that I meticulously re-recorded and released four albums, calling them Taylor's Versions. The passionate support you showed those albums and the success you found giving The Eras Tour into why I was able to buy back my music. I can't thank you enough for helping to reunite me with this art that I have dedicated my life to, but never owned until now. All I've ever wanted was the opportunity to work hard enough to be able to one day purchase my music outright.' In addition to her handwritten message she also posted a picture of herself surrounded by the six albums. 'You belong with me,' she wrote in the caption before instructing fans to head to her website for the handwritten letter. In the note she also gave fans an update on the 'Taylor's Version' of her re-recorded albums. Before she bought back her masters, she was was re-recording the albums and added additional songs onto the project. She told fans that have been anticipating Reputation (Taylor's Version) that that album as well as her self-titled re-recording will 'have their moment to re-emerge when the time is right, if that is something you guys would be excited about.' 'But if it happens, it won't be from a place of sadness and longing for what I wish I could have. It will just be a celebration now.'
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Taylor Swift Buys Back Her Music By Paying Millions — Report
Taylor Swift has recently bought back her music, rewriting the narrative of artistic freedom. Years after Scooter Braun bought the masters to her first six studio albums, they were sold to Shamrock Capital. The pop star reportedly paid an estimated $360 million to buy back the rights to her music. This chapter marks a major milestone in Swift's career after a long-fought battle over artistic control. In a landmark move, Taylor Swift reportedly bought back her music for almost $360 million. The master of her early discography, from her self-titled debut to 'Reputation,' was sold off in 2019. Scooter Braun's Ithaca Holdings purchased the albums, which were later sold to a private equity firm, Shamrock Capital. Swift was not aware of the negotiations and learned about the deals after they were finalized. As per Billboard, Shamrock Capital struck a deal with Swift to sell the rights back to her. Moreover, they aligned the purchase price roughly with the firm's original investment. The firm reportedly made around $100 million during its three-year ownership of Swift's masters. However, it sold them off to the 'Cruel Summer' singer with little to no additional profit by striking the estimated $360 million deal. Swift has been vocal about the importance of artists' rights over their music since the ordeal began. As a result of the unprecedented acquisition of her albums by Braun, the Grammy winner publicly committed to re-recording the six albums. She began recording them under the banner of 'Taylor's Version,' adding songs 'From the Vault.' Her re-recorded albums dominated the charts, even outperforming the originals in streaming and sales, according to Billboard. Swift's hard-won victory marks a turning point for artists' rights, creating a broader impact. Besides, her estimated net worth is already among the highest for musicians worldwide. Now that the singer-songwriter has full control over the masters, her net worth will likely see further growth. The post Taylor Swift Buys Back Her Music By Paying Millions — Report appeared first on Reality Tea.
Forbes
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Taylor Swift's ‘Reputation' Finally Reaches The Top 10
Consumption of Taylor Swift's albums exploded recently, after in late May, the singer-songwriter revealed that she had purchased the master rights to her first six albums. That deal officially ended a years-long feud with Scooter Braun and Ithaca Holdings, which had purchased them away from her years ago, prompting her to begin releasing Taylor's Versions of her projects. This latest move puts Swift back in control of the music that made her a household name. Following the exciting development, millions of fans rushed to buy and stream her catalog once again. Much of the focus was on Reputation, a set many had expected would be next in her re-recordings series. While an updated version of the 2017 project may never materialize, fans continue to celebrate the original — and this week, they've pushed it to new heights. This frame, Reputation lands at No. 10 on Billboard's Top Streaming Albums chart, breaking into the loftiest tier for the very first time. The full-length effort reaches the top 10 more than a year and a half after it first returned to the tally in October 2023, and 43 weeks into its current run. As Reputation climbs, Swift now claims five top 10 wins on the Top Streaming Albums chart. That's exactly half of the 10 sets she's pushed onto the list. The tally includes two No. 1s, The Tortured Poets Department and 1989 (Taylor's Version), both of which led for multiple frames. In addition to returning to the Top Streaming Albums chart, Reputation also reenters both the Top Album Sales and Vinyl Albums rankings. In both cases, it can now be found inside the top 10 once more. Purchases of the project grew by nearly 1,200% compared to the previous period, following Swift's greenlight for fans to once again buy Reputation. For years, many had avoided doing so, as sales would have financially benefited the former rights holders — a group Swift was not part of and did not support. On the Billboard 200 — the only chart where Reputation doesn't need to reappear — the album manages a huge leap from No. 78 to No. 5. This marks its three-hundred-and-fiftieth frame on the tally, and it lands higher than it's appeared in many years.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Taylor Swift now owns all of her music outright. What does that mean for ‘Reputation (Taylor's Version)'?
Taylor Swift now owns all of her own music, after years of fighting to gain ownership of her entire catalog. She shared a letter on her website explaining that she was able to purchase the rights to all of her music, music videos and concert films. 'To say this is my greatest dream come true is actually being pretty reserved about it,' she wrote. 'To my fans, you know how important this has been to me — so much so that I meticulously re-recorded and released 4 of my albums, calling them Taylor's Version." Swift knew that fans would especially care about her sixth album and wonder what was happening with the 'Taylor's Version' of the album. So she addressed in the letter what will happen next with the two albums that she hasn't released rerecorded versions of yet — 'Reputation (Taylor's Version)' and her debut album. 'Those 2 albums can still have their moments to re-emerge when the time is right, if that would be something you guys would be excited about. But if it happens, it won't be from a place of sadness and longing for what I wish I could have. It will just be a celebration now.' She also explained that she hasn't finished rerecording 'Reputation (Taylor's Version)' and might not finish it. She did say she would likely still release the unreleased 'Vault' tracks from that album. 'I know, I know. What about Rep TV? Full transparency. I haven't even re-recorded a quarter of it,' Swift wrote. 'The Reputation album was so specific to that time in my life and I kept hitting a stopping point when I tried to remake it. 'All that defiance, that longing to understood while feeling purposely misunderstood, that desperate hope, that shame-born snarl and mischief. To be perfectly honest, it's the one album in those first 6 that I thought couldn't be improved upon by redoing it. Not the music, or photos, or videos. So I kept putting it off. There will be a time (if you're into the idea) for the unreleased Vault tracks from that album to hatch.' In 2019, Swift expressed frustrations about not being able to gain ownership of her entire music catalog after a dispute with Big Machine records. She left Big Machine records in 2018 for a deal with Universal Music Group's Republic Records. The next year, Big Machine and the label's founder Scott Borchetta sold her masters to Ithaca Holdings. In a Tumblr post, she shared her anger about the deal, saying that she has 'pleaded for a chance' to buy her own work for years but was instead 'given an opportunity to sign back up to Big Machine Records and 'earn' one album back at a time, one for every new one I turned in,' according to Time magazine. The music artist rejected the offer, and also condemned the sale of her masters to Scooter Braun's Ithaca Holdings. In response to Swift's Tumblr post, Borchetta wrote on Big Machine's website, 'Taylor had every chance in the world to own not just her master recordings, but every video, photograph, everything associated to her career. She chose to leave.' In 2020, investment firm Shamrock Capital acquired the rights to Swift's original six albums. She said in a social media post that she found out about the sale after receiving a letter from Shamrock Holdings 'letting us know they had bought 100% of my music, videos, and album art from Scooter Braun. This was the second time my music had been sold without my knowledge.' On Friday, she announced that she was able to purchase the entire library and rights from Shamrock Capital to now own all of her own music. Shortly after announcing her frustrations about not being able to gain ownership of her music in 2019, Swift announced plans to rerecord her first six albums and release them for her fans. Here are the albums that she rerecorded: 'Fearless (Taylor's Version),' April 9, 2021 'Red (Taylor's Version),' Nov. 12, 2021 'Speak Now (Taylor's Version),' July 7, 2023 '1989 (Taylor's Version),' Oct. 27, 2023 She expressed pride in being a part of the conversation in music ownership. 'I'm extremely heartened by the conversations this saga has reignited within my industry among artists and fans,' she wrote. 'Every time a new artist tells me they negotiated to own their master recordings in their record contract because of this fight, I'm reminded of how important it was for all of this to happen.'
Business Journals
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Journals
How a pop star's actions stirred a master class in copyright law
You may have heard that Taylor Swift recently purchased the rights to her master sound recordings from her first six albums for a reported $350 million dollars. This has led many people to wonder, why would she have to buy the rights to her own music and how did she do it? The answer involves a mix of copyright law, contract law, determination, savvy business and a dedicated fan base. The story begins with a 15-year-old Taylor Swift signing a music contract with Big Machine Records (BMR) and releasing her first album, 'Taylor Swift' in 2006. As a part of her music contract, BMR financed the production of her first six albums and received ownership of the master recordings that formed each of those albums. By receiving ownership in the master recordings, BMR, through the exclusive rights granted to copyright owners in Section 106 of U.S. Copyright Law, was able to control how the recordings were distributed, licensed and monetized. Swift also agreed to not re-record her music for a period of time. Importantly, ownership of the master recordings is separate from the ownership of the musical work, which, according to copyright law, vests in the composer or creator. Because Swift wrote or co-wrote the vast majority of the songs on these albums, she held substantial 'composer' rights. Over the course of these six albums, Swift became one of the most popular and best-selling recording artists of all time. Things began to get really interesting in November of 2018 when Taylor Swift's contract with BMR expired and she left and signed with Universal Music Group's Republic Records. As a part of that deal, she negotiated for her ownership of all of her future master recordings recorded for Republic Records. At the same time, she alleges that she was trying to purchase her master recordings from BMR. In June of 2019, BMR was sold to Ithaca Holdings for a reported $330 million dollars. Ithaca Holdings was controlled by music executive Scooter Braun. Because BMR owned Swift's master recordings from her first six albums, Ithaca Holdings became the new owner of the rights to these recordings. Swift was not happy with the sale as she was trying to purchase her recordings at the same time. This ignited a public feud that was so newsworthy, it led to its own docuseries on Max called 'Taylor Swift vs Scooter Braun: Bad Blood.' Swift publicly asserted that BMR and Braun had bullied her and presented her with unreasonable demands as it related to the potential sale of the master recordings back to her. Additionally, she alleged that they had refused to allow music from any of her first six albums to be used in a Netflix documentary about Swift or to be performed at the 2019 American Music Awards where she was honored as Artist of the Decade. Ithaca and Braun denied these allegations. In response to the feud, on July 13, 2019, Kelly Clarkson tweeted, 'just a thought, U should go in & re-record all the songs that U don't own the masters on exactly how you did them but put brand new art and some kind of incentive so fans will no longer buy the old versions. I'd buy all of the new versions just to prove a point.' Later Clarkson would credit Reba McEntire with inspiring the tweet, as McEntire had re-recorded some of her songs years earlier. In August of 2019, Swift announced that she was going to do exactly that and plans for the re-recording began. In the meantime, Ithaca Holdings sold Swift's master recordings to Shamrock Capitol for between $300 and $450 million dollars in November of 2020. This second sale further infuriated Swift who allegedly was still trying to buy the rights. In April of 2021, after her contractual obligation to not rerecord her music had passed, Swift released 'Fearless (Taylor's Version).' This was followed by 'Red (Taylor's Version)' in November of 2021, 'Speak Now (Taylor's Version)' in July of 2023 and '1989 (Taylor's Version)' in October of 2023. Shamrock Holdings could still sell the original versions, but the demand for these plummeted. Instead, everyone wanted to buy, use and license the new versions, which were entirely controlled by Swift as the owner of both the composer rights and the master recording rights. However, she didn't own the rights to all of her music until she purchased them, together with full ownership of unreleased songs, album art, concert films, photography and music videos last month for a reported $350 million dollars. Because of Swift's actions, artists (and their agents and managers) should have a better understanding of what they might be giving up when they enter into a recording contract. Conversely, companies that have musician contracts are already trying to extend the period of time where an artist cannot re-record their music in order to avoid this situation. To say this was a master class in business would be an understatement. Swift capitalized on copyright law, contract law and her fan base to get exactly what she had been pursuing for years. In her own words, 'All of the music I've ever made…now belongs…to me.'
