Taylor Swift bought back the rights to her first six albums… What does that mean?
It doesn't look like it will be a cruel summer for the Swifties after all
As a dedicated Swiftie, my Instagram notifications are on for Taylor Swift’s posts and stories. Today, my phone pinged as I sat in a Walmart parking lot and sprinted to the app to read what my favorite singer posted. I’m not going to lie, I teared up a little bit at the announcement from her I read.
If you’re unfamiliar with the whole “Taylor Swift v. Scooter Braun” situation, in a nutshell, Taylor signed on with Big Machine Records in 2005 at the young age of 15. Thirteen years later, she left the company and Scooter Braun, a well-known music manager who managed artists like Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber, came through and bought Big Machine Records, and in turn, Taylor’s first 6 albums.
Since Scooter purchased the masters to her music, she no longer had the rights and ownership of her life’s work.
That is, until the announcement today.
On May 30, 2025, Taylor took to Instagram to tell her fanbase and the entire world to check out her website for a letter. After looking at her website, my jaw dropped and that’s when I - and Swifties all over the world - learned she bought back her first 6 albums from Big Machine Records with the private equity firm, Shamrock Capital.
After her 2019 announcement that she would re-record her first 6 albums - Taylor Swift (also known as “debut”), Fearless, Speak Now, Red, 1989 and Reputation - Taylor has re-recorded and re-released four out of the six thus far. In 2021, Taylor released Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and Red (Taylor’s Version). In 2023, Taylor released Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) and 1989 (Taylor’s Version). Taking a break from re-releasing her stolen albums, Taylor released her eleventh studio album, The Tortured Poets Department in early 2024.
Although, fans are cautiously optimistic for the last two re-releases: Taylor Swift and Reputation. With Reputation being the most anticipated re-release, fans have been clawing at the door of The Vault (A mythical location where Taylor stores unreleased songs from each era, to then be uncovered in the Taylor’s Version release of the album) for her to release Reputation (Taylor’s Version).
In her letter, Taylor stated she’s recorded only a quarter of Reputation (Taylor’s Version), but all of Taylor Swift (Taylor’s Version) has been recorded. Now, it’s just a matter of time for the two album’s releases.
In her letter, Taylor also said “I can’t thank you enough for helping to reunite me with this art that I have dedicated my life to, but have never owned until now … The best things that have ever been mine … finally actually are.”