Master(s) at work: Taylor Swift buys back her first six albums

When Taylor Swift on the Speak Now album sang “there is nothing I do better than revenge”—she wasn’t kidding. This weekend, Swift announced that she has purchased the master recordings of her first six albums, the initial sale of which to a third party kicked off a re-recording revenge campaign.

Let’s rewind:

• Six years ago, the masters of Swift’s first six albums were sold by Big Machine Records to then-music manager Scooter Braun. After a public internet brawl where the country/pop star voiced her anger over the sale, the masters were then sold to Shamrock Capital.
• In an effort to take some ownership of her material, Swift began re-recording and releasing her first six albums. The re-recordings eventually grew into blueprint for The Eras Tour, which went on to become the highest grossing tour of all time.

What does owning your masters mean? With the reported ~$360 million purchase from Shamrock Capital, Swift gains full control over how her music is used, distributed, and monetized. Masters are the original sound recording of a song from which all other copies are made.

Other stars are learning from Swift’s example: Olivia Rodrigo worked the ownership of her masters into her contract before signing with Geffen Records in 2020, while Zara Larsson bought back her catalog in 2022. Chappell Roan and Bad Bunny have also attested to having some of the best deals in modern music.