Taylor Swift is all over the tabloids, with her most recent announcement of a new album, ‘Life of a Showgirl’. Making the big reveal on her boyfriend’s brother’s podcast, she set the social media abuzz with excitement. However, that was not all, she shared an emotional moment during the podcast and revealed her staggering deal with Shamrock Holdings.
Her $360 million victory tasted sweet as she opened up about the long road her family walked on to finally own her masters. She got the news just months after the Super Bowl victory of her boyfriend, Travis Kelce’s Kansas City Chiefs. Her mother called her up with the news and Taylor couldn’t help but break down with tears of joy. She told Kelce, heaving and crying, “I got my music back!” She noted on the podcast, “This changed my life.”
Taylor’s 15-year ownership battle
This struggle goes back to 2006 when Taylor Swift recorded her first six albums under Big Machine Label Group. In 2019, music manager Scooter Braun, from Ithica Holdings, acquired the label for $330 million. This deal included all of Swift’s master recordings.
Swift expressed her disappointment with the deal and how the ownership of her albums was just assumed. By then she was a big name, unlike in 2006 when she was just a teenager. She accused Braun of bullying and accused him of being contentious. However, it didn’t end there, in 2020, Braun sold Swift’s masters to Shamrock Capital for $405 million. The private equity firm was denied partnership from Taylor Swift.
‘Taylor’s Versions’: What’s that all about?
Taylor then resorted to re-recording entire albums, rapidly devaluing the originals that Shamrock still owned. Fans and broadcasters alike were quick to adopt the newer versions of Swift’s songs.
The $360 million deal
The multiple Grammy award winner revealed in Jason Kelce’s podcast that she now has full ownership over her creations with a ‘no strings attached’ agreement. Orchestrated by Taylor’s immense success of the Eras Tour, she bought back her masters from Shamrock Capital and denied the deal of any equity partnership for her catalog.
The battle was a significant move in artists rights and triggered a watershed moment in music. Experts estimated that streaming, licensing, and royalties from her catalog, which generates more than $100 million annually, as per an HT report. This not only built her legacy brand but also reshaped the music industry’s outlook on the autonomy of creations.