Taylor Swift's re-recording of her Grammy-winning "Fearless" album teaches people a powerful lesson: Don't dwell on what you can't change, focus on what you can.
The 31-year-old pop singer is known to voice her opinion on issues important to her. Swift opened up to fans about her frustration when music executive and arch nemesis, Scooter Braun, bought the recording rights to her Fearless album in 2019. The album, originally released in 2008 by Big Machine Records, was the most-awarded country album of all time. While it is no doubt that Swift's musical success will last beyond a lifetime, she makes it a point to publicly speak on the importance of regaining ownership rights to the music she creates.
Swift stated in her re-recording announcement on Twitter:
"Artists should own their work for so many reasons, but the most screaming obvious one is that the artists is the only one who really *knows* that body of work"
Taylor's savvy business move is significant for a number of reasons. To understand this completely, I had to do some research on how artists profit off their music while signed to a record label. Musical components are grouped into two pieces: a musical composition and a sound recording. When a lyricist, composer, or songwriter creates a musical work, they own the musical composition of the piece. When this composition is recorded, performed, and mastered, the resulting creation makes up the sound recording. These two pieces of a song are often mistaken as one copyright. Yet legally, they are treated differently. More often than not, artists own the compositions of songs and record labels own the masters or sound recordings of songs.
When Scooter Braun bought the masters to Taylor's early albums, she was left with the publishing rights, or the copyright for the composition–– since she writes most of her music herself. This is significant "because as the owner of publishing rights, Swift can veto use of her (original) songs when it comes to commercial use, such as in films, TV shows, advertisements, and just about anything else--in effect requiring anyone who wants to license her music to use the new versions, which she owns." In re-recording new masters to her old albums, Swift devalues the original assets and encourages users to stream the new versions over the old ones. This way, Swift will profit from the streams, sales, and licensing of her songs more than Braun could have imagined.
Taylor's bold and relentless steps to reclaim her art has the potential to change the balance of power in the music industry. It encourages artists to fight for ownership in an industry that has exploited musicians for years. On the other hand, it can also inspire record labels to revise their recording contracts and extend longer periods of time before artists can re-record songs.
Her ability to channel her emotions through music has always been Taylor's strong suit. In this case, she takes control of her music the way she always has–– by using feelings as a catalyst to take action.
Hi Elisa. I agree with you; I think it was so awesome and bold that Taylor reclaims what was hers. It has been sad for me to see all these artists being exploited. Singers/Songwriters put their blood, sweat, and tears into their music. Just as she shows her emotion through her music, she shows it through her power regarding the fight for her property. I really appreciated reading your piece on Taylor Swift because I have never been very infested in her music, and now I have so much respect for her.
I understand why directors usually don't have the copyright of the movies they directed, because movies are a collaborative art, but music, especially the ones created by singers themselves, should by all means belong to the creators. It is shocking to know that even Tylor Swift struggles with fighting the copyright for her own songs, as she is at the top of the chain. Although I'm not a big fan of her music, I appreciate her talent and determination over the ownership of her music. As she set an example for the industry and courageously fought back what she thought was wrong. Change makers should always be appreciated.
I've never been a huge Taylor Swift fan music-wise, but this business move will be a pivotal/monumental moment for artists who for the longest, have been exploited and abused by major music executives and labels. Hopefully, artists wise up before signing atrocious deals, but fighting back after the fact is a great start. Ownership of masters should not be something that a majority of artists don't have, it should be a standard for artists coming into the industry to try and hold on to them.
I absolutely loved this new album and I'm glad that you wrote about it! As a child I listened to Taylor Swift all the time and I absolutely loved her music. Now that I am older, however, I am better able to understand the messages that she was sharing. All of this music definitely hits differently now that I have gone through my own relationships and heartbreak. I loved seeing her overcome the judgment and cruelty that she has faced for so much of her career. She is so brave and unafraid, even when much of the media is looking for reasons to drag her down. When she found this loophole and produced her own version of the album, it…
Many people are critical of Taylor Swift, but she continues to impress me. Being in the spotlight at such a young age is often a pathway to mistakes and perceived failure in the public eye. Many artists, like Justin Bieber, have struggled with being so visible during the years when humans are conditioned to test boundaries and disappoint their parents. I do not condone many of the choices that Bieber made in his teenage years and early 20s, however, I appreciate his remorse and apologies, and I am forgiving all that he has done under the influence of substances and poor judgment. Taylor Swift experienced her rebellion through her music. Some of her more recent albums have alluded to the…