Music

Taylor Swift Is Now Free To Re-Record Her Old Albums And Fans Are Celebrating

She's one step closer to owning all of her own music.

by Jared Richards  2 November 2020
#Taylorisfree trends as fans celebrate Taylor Swift's ability to rerecord 5 of her old albums

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Taylor Swift has reached a new milestone in the legal saga over the master recordings of her first six albums, and her fans are celebrating, leading #TaylorIsFree to trend on Twitter.

After Swift left her old label Big Machine Records in 2019, her masters — aka the original recordings — were sold by label head Scott Borchetta to Scooter Braun, manager to Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande and many more, and a man Swift says had bullied her incessantly over several years.

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Swift wrote an open letter explaining the sale as the ‘worst possible’ outcome for her masters, and asked her fans to “please let Scott Borchetta and Scooter Braun know how you feel about this”. Earlier this year, Big Machine released a live album by Swift of performances from a 2008 radio show concert without her authorisation.

The star, who is now signed to Republic Records, has previously said she plans to re-record her pre-Lover albums: as per an interview on Good Morning America last year, now’s the time.

“It’s something that I’m very excited about doing because my contract says that starting November 2020 — so next year — I can record albums one through five all over again,” she said.

Reputation, Swift’s sixth album, isn’t yet eligible for re-recording, as five years must pass from the album’s initial release. Swift will be able to re-record it in 2022.

As soon as Halloween ended in the US, Swifties took to social media to celebrate, using the hashtag #TaylorIsFree. Swift herself hasn’t commented on the occasion, and it’s entirely possible she’s not free just yet, given she’s previously just cited the month, not the date.

But still, close enough.

Since parting with Big Machine, Swift has released two albums: Lover and folklore. She recently approved her song ‘Only The Young’, a stand-alone single, to feature in a political campaign ad for the Democratic party.