On Friday, May 30, Taylor Swift made a groundbreaking announcement that she has successfully regained ownership of her master recordings from Shamrock Capital, the private equity firm that acquired them from Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings in late 2020. Sources indicate that Shamrock sold Swift’s extensive catalog back to her for an amount surprisingly close to their original investment—approximately 0 million, as reported by Billboard. This significant development marks a pivotal moment in Swift’s career, representing not just a financial transaction but a reclaiming of her artistic legacy.
In a heartfelt message shared on her official website, Swift expressed her overwhelming emotions: “All the times I was this close, reaching out for it, only for it to fall through. I almost stopped thinking it could ever happen after 20 years of having the carrot dangled and then yanked away. But that’s all in the past now. I’ve been bursting into tears of joy at random intervals ever since I found out that this is really happening. I really get to say these words:
All of the music I’ve ever made… now belongs to me. All of my music videos. All the concert films. The album art and photography. The unreleased songs. The memories. The magic. The madness. Every single era. My entire life’s work.” This remarkable statement reflects the culmination of Swift’s relentless pursuit of artistic integrity and ownership in the music industry.
“To say this is my greatest dream come true is actually being pretty reserved about it,” she emphasized, showcasing her genuine joy and satisfaction at this monumental achievement.
The intricate saga of Swift’s master recordings traces back to June 2019, when Ithaca Holdings acquired Big Machine Label Group, which was the owner of the master recordings for Swift’s first six albums, for an estimated $300 million. At that time, it was believed that Swift’s catalog constituted a significant portion of that total valuation. Over the years, Swift has openly expressed her dissatisfaction with the handling of her masters and, in 2019, initiated the process of re-recording her Big Machine albums to regain control over her music from a commercial perspective.
Her re-recording journey commenced with Fearless (Taylor’s Version) in April 2021, followed by Red (Taylor’s Version) in November 2021. In 2023, she continued this project with the releases of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) and 1989 (Taylor’s Version), both of which achieved remarkable success by topping the Billboard 200 chart. Fans eagerly await the re-recording of her self-titled debut and her last album with Big Machine, Reputation. Since her departure from Big Machine in November 2018, Swift has released five additional albums under Republic Records: Lover (2019), Folklore (2020), Evermore (2020), Midnights (2022), and The Tortured Poets Department (2024). She also completed her career-defining Eras Tour, which redefined what a concert tour could achieve and significantly boosted streams and sales of her entire catalog, including the re-recordings.
It’s important to note that Swift was not part of Shamrock’s 2020 purchase of her music. “This was the second time my music had been sold without my knowledge,” she expressed at the time, highlighting the challenges artists face regarding ownership and control of their work.
Shamrock’s 2020 announcement regarding their acquisition of Swift’s catalog from Ithaca highlighted their admiration for her artistry and the immense value of her music. They referred to Swift as a “transcendent artist” with a “timeless catalog,” indicating that their investment was fueled by a belief in the long-term potential of her work. Although they had hoped to collaborate with her directly, they respected her decision to remain uninvolved. Shamrock expressed appreciation for Swift’s professionalism and conveyed an interest in future collaboration opportunities.
While the precise terms of the deal remain undisclosed, reports from sources close to the negotiations suggest that Swift paid an amount near the $360 million price tag Shamrock initially paid in 2021. This suggests that Shamrock did not realize significant profits from the sale of the assets. However, the financial firm, with connections to Disney, still earned approximately $100 million in total during the more than three years it owned the recordings. The six albums and two live albums recorded by Swift while she was signed to Big Machine generated an estimated $60 million annually worldwide from 2022 to 2024, according to Billboard estimates based on Luminate data. After accounting for distribution, marketing, and royalty payments to Swift, it’s likely that around 50% of that revenue was consumed, leaving Shamrock with an annual profit of around $30 million.
In 2023, Billboard reported that the re-recordings of Swift’s albums, specifically Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and Red (Taylor’s Version), significantly outperformed their original versions since the new releases came out. The new Fearless has achieved three times the equivalent album units compared to the original, while the new Red has garnered as much as ten times the original’s performance.
As of May 22, according to Luminate, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) has accumulated 2.3 million equivalent album units compared to the original’s 8.6 million U.S. units, despite the latter having a significant 12-year head start; Red (Taylor’s Version) has reached 5.18 million equivalent album units versus the original’s 9.16 million U.S. units, with the original being released nearly a decade before the re-recording; Fearless (Taylor’s Version) has achieved 3.0 million equivalent album units against the original’s 11.7 million U.S. units, which had a 13-year advantage; and 1989 (Taylor’s Version) has earned 4.87 million equivalent album units compared to the original’s 14.6 million, with a nine-year gap in release dates.
In total, Swift’s impressive catalog has amassed 116.77 million equivalent album units in the U.S. since her debut in 2006, according to Luminate. She has sold an astounding 54 million albums domestically and has generated a staggering 70.746 billion streams, solidifying her status as one of the most successful artists in the history of music.
Additional reporting by Elizabeth Dilts Marshall and Dan Rys.
