Nicole Lappin

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?

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?

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?

It's like telling an author, yeah, you could have your previous book back, but only if you agree to write a sequel and then give us that sequel, too. So she walked away from that offer and she made her feelings very, very clear. This deal, she said, stripped me of my life's work.

It's like telling an author, yeah, you could have your previous book back, but only if you agree to write a sequel and then give us that sequel, too. So she walked away from that offer and she made her feelings very, very clear. This deal, she said, stripped me of my life's work.

It's like telling an author, yeah, you could have your previous book back, but only if you agree to write a sequel and then give us that sequel, too. So she walked away from that offer and she made her feelings very, very clear. This deal, she said, stripped me of my life's work.

In 2020, an investment firm called Shamrock Capital bought Swift's catalog from Braun and paid reportedly more than $300 million for it. And remember, just one year earlier, Braun had paid $300 million for all of Big Machine, not just for Taylor's Masters.

In 2020, an investment firm called Shamrock Capital bought Swift's catalog from Braun and paid reportedly more than $300 million for it. And remember, just one year earlier, Braun had paid $300 million for all of Big Machine, not just for Taylor's Masters.

In 2020, an investment firm called Shamrock Capital bought Swift's catalog from Braun and paid reportedly more than $300 million for it. And remember, just one year earlier, Braun had paid $300 million for all of Big Machine, not just for Taylor's Masters.

She said that Shamrock gave her an opportunity to partner, but she rejected it once she found out that Shamrock's agreement with Braun allowed him to profit from her catalog for many years. She said Braun's ability to profit from her work was, quote, a non-starter. Taylor's next move was pretty genius.

She said that Shamrock gave her an opportunity to partner, but she rejected it once she found out that Shamrock's agreement with Braun allowed him to profit from her catalog for many years. She said Braun's ability to profit from her work was, quote, a non-starter. Taylor's next move was pretty genius.

She said that Shamrock gave her an opportunity to partner, but she rejected it once she found out that Shamrock's agreement with Braun allowed him to profit from her catalog for many years. She said Braun's ability to profit from her work was, quote, a non-starter. Taylor's next move was pretty genius.

She did something that very few artists have ever tried to do, and no one has done with such success. She started re-recording her old albums. The goal was to offer fans an alternative to the originals, versions that she owns. These are the albums she released under the same name, just with that Taylor's Version edition in parentheses.

She did something that very few artists have ever tried to do, and no one has done with such success. She started re-recording her old albums. The goal was to offer fans an alternative to the originals, versions that she owns. These are the albums she released under the same name, just with that Taylor's Version edition in parentheses.

She did something that very few artists have ever tried to do, and no one has done with such success. She started re-recording her old albums. The goal was to offer fans an alternative to the originals, versions that she owns. These are the albums she released under the same name, just with that Taylor's Version edition in parentheses.