Since 2021, international country and pop sensation Taylor Swift has been famously re-recording her first six studio albums. So far, she has re-released four albums: “Fearless”, “Red”, “Speak Now”, and “1989”. Fans are now eagerly anticipating the last releases of “Reputation” and “Taylor Swift” (often referred to as “Debut”).
Besides entertaining fans with the new releases, why has Swift given herself the extra workload of re-releasing these albums? Intellectual Property rights, of course.
“long story short”
Between 2006 and 2017, Swift released six of her most memorable albums. These are named “Taylor Swift”, “Fearless”, “Speak Now”, “Red”, “1989”, and “Reputation”. The albums were released under Big Machine Records, which Swift signed onto in 2005.
However, in 2019, Scooter Braun acquired the 6 albums when Ithaca Holdings LLC bought Big Machine Records. Swift opposed the acquisition as she sought to purchase her own music herself. However, the negotiations failed, leaving Swift without the ownership of her music.
Swift then moved to Universal Music Group, where she has released a further five albums titled “Lover”, “Folklore”, “Evermore”, “Midnights”, and “The Tortured Poets Department” since 2019. These are officially under her own name, and she holds the ownership to their copyright.
After receiving a tweet from Kelly Clarkson, Swift was inspired to re-record her first six albums. These would be released with new artwork, some updated lyrics, and multiple unreleased songs “From the Vault”.
Through re-recording her albums, Swift is granting herself legal ownership of her songs. This is marked by the prominent phrase “(Taylor’s Version)” added at the end of each song title to signify her reclaimed ownership of the copyright in the songs.
In Her Legal Rights Era
The legal reasoning behind Swift’s re-recordings is to grant herself exclusive rights over her music. She now has the power to protect her works from being exploited by others, and receives a payment when they are played.
Swift is able to re-record her songs as copyright can exist in multiple forms. It separately protects music, lyrics, and a recording of these both combined. Since Swift wrote her music herself, she kept her copyright in the music and lyrics separately. Hence, the re-recordings grant Swift the rights to their combination.
However, it is important to note that certain record label and recording agreements may prevent artists from re-recording their music. Usually, after the original record label agreement expires, the restriction imposes a time limit for a specific number of years until the artist can re-record their songs. For instance, Sony prevented George Michael from re-recording his songs for five years after the date of the original recording.
“Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?”
Since releasing her re-recorded albums, each “Taylor’s Version” has replaced its former from the Billboard 200. The most recent release of “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” currently sits at number 24 on the Billboard 200, with 38 weeks on the chart. This signifies incredible success by Swift as alongside claiming her legal rights, her fans have remained supportive throughout the entire process.
By undergoing the project of her re-releases, Swift hopes to inspire other artists to re-claim copyrights over their songs by asserting their intellectual property rights. She acts as a prominent figure who champions securing control, marked by the memorable words “Taylor’s Version”.
Sources
“What’s Next for Taylor’s Version? Everything to Know About Swift’s Re-Recorded Albums” (2023).
“Why is Taylor Swift re-recording her albums?” (2023).
“Taylor Swift’s Re-Recording Plan Has Worked Perfectly – Except When It Comes To ‘1989’” (2024).
“IP and music agreements for artists and songwriters”.
Ava Edwards
