Nicole Lappin

She had moved over to Universal Music Group and negotiated a deal that gave her ownership of her masters, starting with the Lover album in 2019. That was a power move and definitely the exception in the industry, not the rule. A master recording, by the way, is the original version of a song or an album, so it's the source from which all the copies are made.

What makes ownership of masters so valuable is that it means you control how and when the song is used, like in commercials, movies, video games, and even live performances. If you own the masters, you also earn significantly more money when it's streamed, bought, or licensed. Most artists don't actually own their masters. The record label usually owns the masters.

What makes ownership of masters so valuable is that it means you control how and when the song is used, like in commercials, movies, video games, and even live performances. If you own the masters, you also earn significantly more money when it's streamed, bought, or licensed. Most artists don't actually own their masters. The record label usually owns the masters.

What makes ownership of masters so valuable is that it means you control how and when the song is used, like in commercials, movies, video games, and even live performances. If you own the masters, you also earn significantly more money when it's streamed, bought, or licensed. Most artists don't actually own their masters. The record label usually owns the masters.

That means labels are the ones that call the shots and are the ones that profit the most from the masters. In a perfect world, this is a fair agreement because the label incurs a lot of costs in order to represent and market their artists, so this is how they make back their money. Now, Taylor owning the Masters under her agreement with UMG was a big deal.

That means labels are the ones that call the shots and are the ones that profit the most from the masters. In a perfect world, this is a fair agreement because the label incurs a lot of costs in order to represent and market their artists, so this is how they make back their money. Now, Taylor owning the Masters under her agreement with UMG was a big deal.

That means labels are the ones that call the shots and are the ones that profit the most from the masters. In a perfect world, this is a fair agreement because the label incurs a lot of costs in order to represent and market their artists, so this is how they make back their money. Now, Taylor owning the Masters under her agreement with UMG was a big deal.

But the Masters of her iconic first six studio albums, Taylor Swift, Fearless, Speak Now, Red, 1989, and Reputation, were all owned by her former label, Big Machine Records. And then Scooter Braun acquired Big Machine Records through his company, Ithaca Holdings.

But the Masters of her iconic first six studio albums, Taylor Swift, Fearless, Speak Now, Red, 1989, and Reputation, were all owned by her former label, Big Machine Records. And then Scooter Braun acquired Big Machine Records through his company, Ithaca Holdings.

But the Masters of her iconic first six studio albums, Taylor Swift, Fearless, Speak Now, Red, 1989, and Reputation, were all owned by her former label, Big Machine Records. And then Scooter Braun acquired Big Machine Records through his company, Ithaca Holdings.

Scooter Braun is the music manager who's often credited with discovering Justin Bieber and has also represented artists like Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato, and Kanye West, someone with whom Taylor had a very public and messy history with. You know the lore. The deal gave Scooter control over Taylor's first six studio albums.

Scooter Braun is the music manager who's often credited with discovering Justin Bieber and has also represented artists like Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato, and Kanye West, someone with whom Taylor had a very public and messy history with. You know the lore. The deal gave Scooter control over Taylor's first six studio albums.

Scooter Braun is the music manager who's often credited with discovering Justin Bieber and has also represented artists like Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato, and Kanye West, someone with whom Taylor had a very public and messy history with. You know the lore. The deal gave Scooter control over Taylor's first six studio albums.

Scooter paid a reported $300 million for the deal, and you can imagine how valuable Taylor's masters are. I mean, licensing alone here? Her songs have been in shows and movies like The Hunger Games, Grey's Anatomy, Ballers, Where the Crawdads Sing, Fifty Shades Darker, How to Be Single, Letters to Juliet, New Girl, The Bear, I could go on and on and on.

Scooter paid a reported $300 million for the deal, and you can imagine how valuable Taylor's masters are. I mean, licensing alone here? Her songs have been in shows and movies like The Hunger Games, Grey's Anatomy, Ballers, Where the Crawdads Sing, Fifty Shades Darker, How to Be Single, Letters to Juliet, New Girl, The Bear, I could go on and on and on.

Scooter paid a reported $300 million for the deal, and you can imagine how valuable Taylor's masters are. I mean, licensing alone here? Her songs have been in shows and movies like The Hunger Games, Grey's Anatomy, Ballers, Where the Crawdads Sing, Fifty Shades Darker, How to Be Single, Letters to Juliet, New Girl, The Bear, I could go on and on and on.

And whoever owns the master recordings also has the exclusive rights to publicly perform the recording. This is why Taylor would later say that Big Machine Records wouldn't allow her to perform her own songs from her earlier albums at the American Music Awards. Swift was not consulted on this sale.

And whoever owns the master recordings also has the exclusive rights to publicly perform the recording. This is why Taylor would later say that Big Machine Records wouldn't allow her to perform her own songs from her earlier albums at the American Music Awards. Swift was not consulted on this sale.

And whoever owns the master recordings also has the exclusive rights to publicly perform the recording. This is why Taylor would later say that Big Machine Records wouldn't allow her to perform her own songs from her earlier albums at the American Music Awards. Swift was not consulted on this sale.

In a statement posted at the time, she said, quote, for years I asked, pleaded for the chance to own my work. Instead, I was given an opportunity to sign back up to Big Machine Records and earn one album back at a time, one for every new one I turned in, end quote. That feels pretty predatory, right?