In June, it was revealed that Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings had agreed to acquire Big Machine Label Group, meaning that Braun now owns the rights to the music Taylor Swift released prior to her upcoming album Lover. That news did not please Swift at all, as she wrote shortly after the information was made public, “Some fun facts about today’s news: I learned about Scooter Braun’s purchase of my masters as it was announced to the world. All I could think about was the incessant, manipulative bullying I’ve received at his hands for years.”
However, it looks like Swift may have found a way to own the rights to her old songs after all, as she apparently plans on re-recording her early material. The Hollywood Reporter notes that in an interview with Tracy Smith on CBS Sunday Morning (which is set to air this weekend), Smith asked if would re-record her back catalog following the deal, and she responded, “Oh yeah.” Smith then followed up with, “That’s a plan?” Swift answered, “Yeah, absolutely.”
It may have been Kelly Clarkson who initially planted this idea in Swift’s head. Shortly after the Big Machine purchase, Clarkson tweeted at Swift, “just a thought, U should go in & re-record all the songs that U don’t own the masters on exactly how U did them but put brand new art & some kind of incentive so fans will no longer buy the old versions. I’d buy all of the new versions just to prove a point.”
@taylorswift13 just a thought, U should go in & re-record all the songs that U don’t own the masters on exactly how U did them but put brand new art & some kind of incentive so fans will no longer buy the old versions. I’d buy all of the new versions just to prove a point 💁🏼♀️
— Kelly Clarkson 🍷💔☀️ (@kellyclarkson) July 13, 2019
Swift wouldn’t be the first musician to do this, as last year, Jojo re-recorded and re-released her first two albums after a long battle with her former record label.
Look out for the full Swift interview when it airs on CBS Sunday Morning this weekend, at 9 a.m. ET on CBS.
