After years of dispute: Taylor Swift buys album rights

New York. Questions and answers about the years-long legal dispute and its repercussions.

The rights to the first six albums the musician ever released: "Taylor Swift" (2006), "Fearless" (2008), "Speak Now" (2010), "Red" (2012), "1989" (2014), and "Reputation" (2017). According to Swift, these also include music videos, concert films, unreleased songs, and the artwork and photos associated with the albums.

At the beginning of her career, Swift was signed to the record label Big Machine, where she recorded her first six albums. As usual, the rights belonged to the label, but in 2019, the label sold the album to a holding company owned by former music manager Scooter Braun for more than $300 million—according to Swift, without her consultation or consent.

A years-long public dispute ensued, which Swift also frequently addressed in her songs. In 2020, Braun sold the rights, this time to the Los Angeles investment firm Shamrock Capital, from which Swift has now acquired them.

The musician, who has been dating football star Travis Kelce for some time, hasn't revealed anything about this. She only said that while it was a labor of love for her, for Shamrock Capital it was ultimately a business deal—but it was always handled "honestly, fairly, and respectfully."

In 2018, Swift switched to the Universal music label and negotiated a contract under which she owns the master rights to all of her albums released there since then, including "Lover" (2019), "Folklore" (2020), "Evermore" (2020), "Midnights" (2022) and "The Tortured Poets Department" (2024).

Swift also found a very special and unprecedented trick: She simply re-recorded some of her first albums – and the rights to these albums, labeled "Taylor's Version," belong to her. So far, these versions include "Fearless," "Red," "1989," and "Speak Now."

Things have been a bit quiet for the singer since the conclusion of her gigantic "Eras" world tour. No new music or performances have been announced at this time. In the letter announcing the album deal on her website, Swift thanked her fans profusely for their support.

But one question continues to haunt fans: What will happen to the two albums not yet released as "Taylor's Version," "Taylor Swift" and "Reputation"? Will Swift still release them as originally announced?

The album "Taylor Swift" has already been completely re-recorded - "and I really love how it sounds now," Swift writes. However, she has been putting off working on the re-recording of "Reputation"; it's not even a quarter finished yet.

The album is so closely connected to a special time in her life, and it's the one of those six albums that she doesn't think could be improved. Swift left open whether and, if so, when any of these new recordings might be released.

RND/dpa