Singer Taylor Swift can re-record her first five albums and take ownership of her original songs. The Grammy-winning artist can record Taylor Swift, Fearless, Speak Now, Red and 1989 as her contract with Big Machine Records has come to an end, according to Fox News.
After the news broke out, Swift fans rejoiced about the occasion on social media, so much so that #TaylorIsFree was trending on Twitter. She left the label in 2018, but in July 2019 it was announced that producer/manager Scooter Braun bought the rights to Swift’s records she made with Big Machine when he acquired the company for $300 million, Fox News reported. Swift signed with Big Machine in 2005 when she was 15 years old.
The terms of her deal gave the label the rights to her recordings – a common practice in the music industry. But Swift claims she has tried to buy them back in the years since.Big Machine founder Scott Borchetta claimed there were terms negotiated for her to purchase her masters that she declined. Sources with knowledge of the deal also told Variety there were at least two offers to sell Swift her masters and that she declined both.
Swift promised fans one day soon she would be able to re-record her albums despite not owning the original masters. In 2018, she signed with Universal Music Group and Republic (as her US partner). “I’m ecstatic to announce that my musical home will be Republic Records and Universal Music Group,” Swift wrote on social media in October.
“Over the years, Sir Lucian Grainge and Monte Lipman have been such incredible partners. It’s so thrilling to me that they, and the UMG team, will be my label family moving forward. It’s also incredibly exciting to know that I’ll own all of my master recordings that I make from now on.”