Taylor Swift Reclaims Music Masters in Historic Deal

Pop icon Taylor Swift has successfully regained ownership of the master recordings for her first six albums, marking a significant milestone in her career. In a heartfelt statement shared on her website on May 30, 2025, Swift announced that she had purchased her music catalog from Shamrock Capital, the private equity firm that held the rights since 2020. The albums involved include Taylor Swift (2006), Fearless (2008), Speak Now (2010), Red (2012), 1989 (2014), and Reputation (2017).

The acquisition follows a well-documented dispute that began in 2019 when Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings acquired Big Machine Label Group, Swift’s former label, along with the masters of her early work. Braun later sold the masters to Shamrock Capital for an estimated $300 million to $450 million. Swift, who was not given the opportunity to purchase her own masters at the time, responded by re-recording her albums as “Taylor’s Version” to regain control over her music.

While the exact financial details of Swift’s recent purchase remain undisclosed, sources cited by Billboard estimate the cost at approximately $360 million. Earlier speculations of a $600 million to $1 billion price tag were dismissed by a source speaking to PEOPLE as “highly inaccurate.”

Swift expressed gratitude to her fans, known as Swifties, for their unwavering support, crediting their enthusiasm for her re-recorded albums and The Eras Tour as key factors in making this deal possible. The transaction has been hailed as a landmark victory for artists’ rights, ending a years-long saga that highlighted issues of creative control in the music industry.