In 2006, Taylor Swift signed a contract with Big Machine Records, letting them own her master recordings that she recorded under their banner. Later, she tried many times to buy back her albums but was not successful. Swift described it as “20 years of having the carrot dangled and then yanked away” (BBC 1). However, on May 30, 2025, Swift announced that she had bought back her first six albums from Shamrock Holdings an investment firm that had owned Swift’s albums.

Since Swift sold her albums to a record label, she started re-recording her albums and naming them “Taylor’s Version.” After her contract expired with Big Machine Records, the company sold her albums to Scooter Braun’s company, Ithaca Holdings, without Swift’s consent. Swift then tried to reclaim ownership from Scooter Braun, feeling that her albums were owned by someone she didn’t trust. However, she was unsuccessful. Later, her albums were sold to Shamrock Holdings, who she finally reclaimed her ownership from.

Swift said that she was “bursting into tears of joy,” in a letter to her fans (BBC 1). On her website, Swift added that earning back the rights to her own music “had, for a long time, seemed unimaginable” (BBC 2). Swift was extremely glad that she could finally have all rights to her own music.

Swift said that the successful eras tour was “why I was able to buy back my music.” She said that she was heartened to see how her struggle was inspiring other artists. Rodrigo made owning her masters a statement in her contract with Geffen Records,

Sources:

1. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp3n799d0v5o

2. https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/articles/c62nv0njzm4o