The Masters

Copyright: The right to control the lyrics and musical composition. This allows an artist to continue to perform their music.

Publishing Rights (Masters): The right to distribute and use the music, often in perpetuity. 

At 16, Swift signed a 13-year deal with Big Machine, a new label started by Scott Borchetta with a $500K investment by her father, Scott Swift. Swift and Borchetta went on to have a strong relationship, both professionally and personally. Her first six albums were released there, and her success became the label’s core value.

When her contract ended in 2018, Swift asked to buy her masters. She was offered a deal where she could earn back one old album for every new one she delivered. Knowing that Borchetta was likely to sell the label, this offer locked her into another long contract and likely under new, unknown management. She declined and signed with Republic, where she would own all future masters and publishing rights.

In 2019 Big Machine—and her masters—were sold to Scooter Braun, someone she had a long history of conflict with. Swift said she had made clear she never wanted him to control her catalog.

Kelly Clarkson encouraged her to re-record the first six albums so she could own new masters. Swift moved ahead with the plan.

In late 2019, Big Machine attempted to block her from performing her older songs at the AMAs, though she ultimately performed them. Swift also said Braun required an NDA that would only allow her to speak positively about him during buyback talks, which she refused.

In 2020 Braun sold her catalog again, this time to Shamrock Holdings, for about $405M.

Swift continued with her “Taylor’s Version” re-recordings, adding unreleased “vault” tracks. Between 2021 and 2023, she released new versions of Red, Speak Now, Fearless, and 1989, all breaking major records.

In May 2025, Swift announced she had reached a deal with Shamrock to buy back her original masters and all related materials. She credited her fans and the success of the Eras Tour for giving her the ability to reclaim them.

Swift is now widely recognized for exposing the imbalance of power over master rights and pushing for stronger artist control across the industry.

The Man

"It was a song that I wrote from my personal experience, but also from a general experience that I've heard from women in all parts of our industry," Swift told Billboard of "The Man."

My Tears Ricochet

"It's a song about how somebody could be your best friend and your companion and your most-trusted person in your life, and then they could go and become your worst enemy, who knows how to hurt you because they were once your most-trusted person," she said.

Father Figure

The song speaks to the power dynamics of a young talent and an older mentor who eventually betrays them. Six years before the album’s release, in a 2019 interview with Rolling Stone, Swift said that Borchetta's decision to work with Braun was a "redefinition of betrayal" because she felt like he was her family. Notably, the lyric “I protect the family” is repeated six times, perhaps in reference to the first six albums under Big Machine.

Sources:

Taylor Swift Buys Back Her Catalog: How We Got Here - The Hollywood Reporter 2025

9 WAYS TAYLOR SWIFT HAS CHANGED THE MUSIC BUSINESS - Billboard 2023

You Belong with Me: The Battle for Taylor Swift's Masters and Artist Autonomy in the Age of autonomy in the Age of Streaming Services - University of Florida Journal of Law and Public Policy 2023