Latest news with #Taylor'sVersions
USA Today
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Scooter Braun on Taylor Swift buying masters: 'Everybody in the end won'
Music executive Scooter Braun broke his silence on Taylor Swift buying her master recordings, saying: "The cool part, if you actually pay attention, is everybody in the end won." The comment comes just past the halfway mark of his appearance on the "Question Everything" podcast hosted by Danielle Robay. Around the 46 minute mark, Robay brings up Braun's company Ithaca Holdings and its 2019 acquisition of the rights to Swift's first six albums from Big Machine Label Group along with the work of other artists including Thomas Rhett and Florida Georgia Line. "If people didn't know you from your work with all these artists like [Justin] Bieber and Ariana [Grande], they definitely know you from the Swift saga," Robay said. "What happened?" Braun replied. Notorious Nashville: 2019 was year of feuds with Taylor Swift, Scooter Braun, NFL and cherry trees. In 2019, Taylor Swift told fans in a Tumblr post that she "wasn't given an opportunity to buy" the original recordings of her first six albums. She also said two of Braun's clients — Bieber and Kanye West — had bullied her online and described the sale of her catalog to Braun as her "worst case scenario." On the podcast, Braun responded to Swift's original statement, "Like when Taylor says she wasn't offered the masters, the reason I was under NDA is because we were in negotiations to sell it back to her. I choose to believe her that maybe they didn't tell her." Robay asked, "Who's they?" to which Braun answered, "Her team. Maybe her team didn't tell her, didn't understand the negotiations." In 2020, Braun sold the masters to Shamrock Capital, which sold them back to the superstar in May. Swift shared a letter on her website saying, "I will be forever grateful to everyone at Shamrock Capital for being the first people to ever offer this to me... I am endlessly thankful. My first tattoo might just be a huge shamrock in the middle of my forehead." Taylor Swift's fight to own her music changed recording contracts in ways good and bad Braun explained why, from a business standpoint, he believes everyone came out ahead — despite the controversy. Swift's decision to rerecord her first six albums led to surges in streaming for both the original versions and the newly released "Taylor's Versions." "She's the biggest she's ever been, the biggest artist of all time," he said referencing the global success of her Eras Tour. Braun told Robay he wished one thing had gone differently. "The only thing that I really regret is it's easy to have a monster, if you never meet them," he said. "Taylor and I have only met three times in our life, and I think at that point we hadn't seen each other in two, three years. I was managing people she wasn't a fan of, and she probably saw my name come up and thought, 'I don't like those people so I don't like him.'" The music mogul first met Swift in 2010 when Bieber opened for her on the "Fearless" tour. Follow Bryan West, the USA TODAY Network's Taylor Swift reporter, on Instagram, TikTok and X as @BryanWestTV.
Cosmopolitan
03-06-2025
- Business
- Cosmopolitan
Fans Think Joe Alwyn Knew About Taylor Swift Buying Her Masters
Joe Alwyn is busy minding his business and has been for several years, but people are still out here reading into things! And the latest? Some fans think Joe made a subtle reference to Taylor Swift buying back her Masters knew about it in advance. Why, you ask? Because he posted a shamrock on Instagram back in March, and Taylor purchased her masters from Shamrock Capital for a reported $360 million. The above TikTok has tens of thousands of likes, though to be fair, plenty of people are shutting this line of thinking down. To quote one person: "Or hear me out, Joe Alwyn knew it was St Patricks Day." Either way, there's no denying that everyone is thrilled for Taylor—who announced the news that she purchased her Masters with an emotional letter to fans. "To say this is my greatest dream come true is actually being pretty casual about it," she said in part. "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."
IOL News
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- IOL News
Swiftly reclaimed: Taylor takes back her musical legacy with early album masters
Masterful move. Taylor Swift bought back the rights to her earlier music for over $300 million. Image: Instagram. Taylor Swift has officially regained control over the rights to her master recordings. The significant milestone now allows her complete autonomy over her musical legacy. In a heartfelt announcement made on her website, Swift declared that the acquisition was "more than a dream come true", reflecting on the years of struggle she faced in securing ownership of her early work. For years, Swift's original albums, released under Big Machine Records, were entangled in corporate interests. Following the completion of her contract with the label in 2019, Big Machine was sold to a group led by her former manager, Scooter Braun. This marked the beginning of a tumultuous chapter for Swift, as Braun sold her masters the following year to Shamrock Holdings for approximately $300 million. Swift expressed her deep frustration at being denied the chance to bid on her own work, a predicament that ignited her passion to re-record her albums, which she referred to as "Taylor's Versions". Having already re-recorded four of her six albums, Swift's latest acquisition signifies a significant victory, extending beyond mere commercial interests. The artist disclosed that owning her masters, along with her music videos, concert films, album art, photography, and unreleased songs, holds profound personal importance. "To say this is my greatest dream come true is actually being pretty reserved about it," she shared in a handwritten note on her website. Taylor Swift's letter to her fans. Image: Taylor Swift's website. "Billboard" reports that Swift paid roughly $360 million to reclaim her work, establishing her music catalogue as an invaluable asset no longer tradable by others. This newfound control allows Swift to authorise the use of her songs in soundtracks and commercials at her discretion, solidifying her status as a pioneer in the industry. Swift also took a moment to acknowledge Shamrock Capital, thanking them for their honesty and respect in the acquisition process, calling them "the first people to ever offer this to me". Taking to Instagram, she shared a few pictures of her holding her albums. In the caption, she wrote: "You belong with me.💚💛💜❤️." Swiftie or not, this is a victory worth cheering for.
Scotsman
02-06-2025
- Business
- Scotsman
Taylor Swift's Versions: did the re-recordings outperform the original works leading to a sale?
Did the Taylor's Version album releases lead to Shamrock Capital's hand being forced to sell her masters? Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Swifties have been celebrating over the weekend after news broke that Taylor Swift now owns the masters to her first six records. The deal also sees videos, concert films, album art, photography, unreleased songs from those albums now in Swift's ownership. So, did the practice of releasing 'Taylor's Versions' lead to a drop in revenue for the firm due to dwindling streaming returns? After years of acrimony and re-recording albums to devalue the original masters, Taylor Swift is now the owner of her original recordings. An announcement was made last week (May 30) that the 1989 and Reputation singer had bought the rights to the masters of her original six albums from Shamrock Capital, who acquired the recordings in a deal with Scooter Braun's Ithaca Holdings in 2020. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad However, the original deal was structured to ensure that Braun (and Ithaca Holdings) would continue to profit from her old musical catalogue for many years. This profit stream for Braun was a major point of contention for Taylor Swift and fuelled her determination to pursue her re-recordings. Did the re-recording of some of Taylor Swift's earlier albums lead to Shamrock Capital having no other choice but to sell her masters back to her due to streaming revenue? | Getty Images/Canva/Spotify Consequently, Swift initially declined an offer from Shamrock to partner, stating that Braun's continued financial participation was a 'non-starter' for her. She expressed that she couldn't 'in good conscience bring myself to be involved in benefiting Scooter Braun's interests.' But after several years and back-and-forth, coupled with the successes of Taylor's Versions, the singer bought back the rights for an estimated $300 million to $360 million. This was a direct purchase deal, rather than 'earning back' the rights to the previous works through new album sales. Crediting her fanbase after her victory, Swift stated that she still intends to release the re-recorded versions of her debut album and Reputation, but 'from a place of celebration now.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad So, how much of an effect did Taylor's Versions have on the original Big Red Machine recordings, and was it enough to force the hand of Shamrock Capital and, by proxy, Scooter Braun? Did Taylor's Versions earn more streams than her original albums in the end? To compare Taylor Swift's original recordings with her new Taylor's Versions, we analysed Spotify streaming statistics provided by Kworb. We specifically cross-referenced releases that are available on streaming services, encompassing both sets of recordings from her battle for the masters. Fearless Original (Main Version): Fearless - 2,961,959,672 streams Taylor's Version: Fearless (Taylor's Version) - 4,961,308,265 streams Difference: +2.00 Billion streams Red Original (Main Version): Red (Deluxe Edition) - 3,746,587,693 streams Taylor's Version: Red (Taylor's Version) - 6,304,100,156 streams Difference: +2.56 Billion streams Speak Now Original (Main Version): Speak Now (Deluxe Package) - 3,557,666,436 streams Taylor's Version: Speak Now (Taylor's Version) - 3,286,728,208 streams Difference: -0.27 Billion streams 1989 Original (Main Version): 1989 (Deluxe) - 9,130,478,775 streams Taylor's Version: 1989 (Taylor's Version) - 5,252,299,630 streams Difference: -3.88 Billion streams Why hasn't the Taylor's Version of 1989 or Speak Now eclipsed the original versions? There are a couple of key reasons why 1989 (Taylor's Version) and Speak Now (Taylor's Version) haven't yet surpassed the streaming levels of their original counterparts. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad One of the biggest reasons stems from their respective release dates: 1989 (Taylor's Version) and Speak Now (Taylor's Version) debuted in 2023, while their original releases came out in 2014 and 2010, respectively. As two massively popular albums that appeared on countless playlists, the original master recordings have a significant advantage in cumulative streams due to their longer time on the market – for now, at least. For years, the original versions of these mega-hits were the only ones available for streaming, and so they likely reside in countless user-created playlists, curated Spotify playlists, and are the versions people naturally sought out for a very long time. The albums that haven't been eclipsed yet are simply fighting against a longer history of accumulated streams and the immense, enduring popularity that their original versions cultivated over years in a heavily streaming-dominated era. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Given time and continued fan support, it's very possible that Speak Now (Taylor's Version) and 1989 (Taylor's Version) will eventually surpass their original counterparts in total streams, as part of Swift's strategy to re-release her music now that she owns her masters. Did you add the newer versions of Taylor Swift's catalogue to your playlists when they were released, or are you still using the original album versions? Let us know your thoughts on the sale and what you think Taylor will do next by leaving a comment down below.
Cosmopolitan
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Cosmopolitan
Here's How Much Taylor Swift Paid to Buy Her Masters
Taylor Swift officially owns allllll her music! The Grammy winner recently bought back her Masters, announcing the news in an open letter to fans published on Friday, May 30. And if you've been casually wondering how much money Taylor spent on her first six albums, apparently it was a lot. Like, hundreds of millions a lot. Per Billboard, Shamrock Capital—who purchased Taylor's Masters from Scooter Braun's Ithaca Holdings in 2020—sold her the catalog for $360 million (which is "relatively close" to what they paid for it in the first place). It was an emotional moment for Taylor, who told fans '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.' 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.' Read her full letter this way:
