In the wake of Taylor Swift’s successful re-recordings of her retroactive albums, major music recording companies are making moves to ensure artists don’t replicate this strategy. Swift’s successful re-recordings arose out of her decision to regain control of her music after her original record label, Big Machine Label Group, was sold to Scooter Braun’s company, Ithaca Holdings. Braun then sold the rights to the masters to a private equity company for $300 million.
Swift’s initiative led her to create new versions of her songs from her previous albums, titled “Taylor’s Version.” Gathering followers around her cause, Swift successfully encouraged radio programmers, playlist curators, and loyal fans to play her new versions rather than the original songs she no longer had ownership rights over. The success of the re-recording strategy was epitomised when her re-recorded “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” topped the Billboard 200 with 1.653 million equivalent album units, outperforming even the original release’s first week sales.
Record labels have been left concerned by Swift’s strategy, given the significant control and potential revenue streams they lose when artists own the master recordings. Should artists hold the rights to their music, they can freely commercially exploit the work through avenues such as licensing deals with films, TV shows, commercials, and video games. Further concerns lie with the devaluation of catalogues and the diminishment of streaming and sales revenues that record labels traditionally control.
In response to Swift’s strategy, major record companies are reportedly implementing new contracts to prevent future artists from following suit. Billboard reports that companies like Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Music Group are insisting artists wait 10, 15, or even 30 years to re-record their catalog after departing the respective labels. These terms significantly lengthen the industry’s usual waiting period of five to seven years from the original’s release or two years after the recording contract expires.
As Swift’s re-recording strategy impacts not only the music industry but also artists’ autonomy, it’s worth noting that she wasn’t the first to use this tactic to assert artistic independence. Artists including Def Leppard, Frank Sinatra, and even TLC have used similar strategies to regain control over their work. However, in light of Swift’s colossal success, it’s clear that record labels aim to restrict these manoeuvres moving forward.
This article was originally published in Above The Law.