Taylor Swift has revealed that she's been "bursting into tears of joy" as she announces that she has acquired the rights to all of her music.
The 35-year-old confirmed she will release Taylor's Version re-recordings of her self-titled and Reputation albums, and also announced she has purchased the rights to all of her concert films, music videos, album art and photography, as well as unreleased songs, in an announcement on her website on Friday.
In the announcement, the singer, who played three nights at the Aviva in Dublin last Summer, said: "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 pined away for a chance to get to tell you this news.
"All the times I was this 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.
"And all my music videos, all the concert films, the album art and photography, the unreleased songs, the memories, the magic, the madness, every single era, my entire life’s work.
"To say this is my greatest dream come true is actually being pretty reserved 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 of my albums, calling them Taylor’s Version.
"The passionate support you showed those albums and the success story you turned The Eras Tour into is 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 have never my owned until now."
The singer added that the process of gaining ownership of her work was "honest, fair, and respectful" and said she was "endlessly thankful" to private equity firm Shamrock Capital, which offered her the deal.
Swift also spoke about plans to release re-recordings Taylor Swift (Taylor’s Version), her debut originally released in 2006, and Reputation (Taylor’s Version), which was originally released in 2017.
The singer announced plans to re-record all her songs in 2019 following a dispute with retired talent manager Scooter Braun after he acquired the recordings of her first six studio albums when he bought her former label.
Though the masters changed hands again after a deal with Shamrock Capital, Swift continued with a bid to regain ownership of the music by creating new versions of the songs.
She has been re-recording of all of her albums, re-releasing them as "Taylor’s Version".
To date Swift has released new versions of her previous albums Fearless (2008), Red (2012), Speak Now (2010) and 1989 (2014).
She has released other albums including Lover (2019), Folklore (2020), Evermore (2020), Midnights (2022) and The Tortured Poets Department (2024).
Braun gained ownership of some of Swift’s back catalogue in 2019 when his holding company, Ithaca Holdings, acquired her former label, Big Machine Label Group.
Swift signed with Big Machine, founded by former Universal executive Scott Borchetta, in 2005 and moved to Universal Music Group in November 2018 in a deal ensuring she maintained the rights to her work.
When Braun acquired her masters, Swift said she was "sad" and "grossed out" and accused the 43-year-old of being behind "incessant, manipulative bullying".
Braun sold the recordings to Shamrock Capital in 2020 and reports in the US suggested the deal was worth more than $300 million.
Swift said before negotiations could start, Braun’s team wanted her to sign an "ironclad NDA stating I would never say another word" about him "unless it was positive".
She said at the time: "So I would have to sign a document that would silence me forever before I could even have a chance to bid on my own work. My legal team said that this is absolutely NOT normal, and they’ve never seen an NDA like this presented unless it was to silence an assault accuser by paying them off."
It was at this stage she confirmed she had begun the process of re-recording her old music, in a bid to gain control, saying "it has already proven to be both exciting and creatively fulfilling".
A master recording is the original recording of a song and whoever owns it earns revenue through avenues including streaming and use in TV, film and adverts.
Swift is known for hits including Bad Blood, Love Story and Anti-Hero and has had four number one singles in the UK chart and 13 number one albums – meaning she draws level with Elvis Presley as the international artist with most UK chart-topping albums.
In December 2024 Swift finished her world wide Eras Tour - which included Dublin's Aviva Stadium - with one last performance at BC Place in Vancouver, Canada.
Also in 2024 she became the most decorated artist in Billboard Music Awards history, with an overall haul of 49 awards, and released chart-topping album, The Tortured Poets Department.
Earlier in the year, she was crowned the global recording artist of the year for a fifth time by the IFPI - which represents the recorded music industry worldwide - after breaking records, selling out arenas and topping charts the year prior.
Source: PA
