Taylor Swift Is The Man
“People often greatly underestimate me on how much I’ll inconvenience myself to prove a point” - Taylor Swift
This past Friday, May 30, 2025 will forever be known to Swifties as “Independence Day.” Yes, there was Red, white and Blue, but there was also green, yellow, purple, and black as Taylor Swift announced she pulled off one of the biggest surprises this fanbase has ever seen. She bought back the entire original 6 album discography that had been taken from her 6 years ago. Photos, music videos, concert films - you name it, they all belong to Taylor now. Her entire life’s work is hers. Much like her hit record, I guess you could say…Taylor Swift certainly is “The Man.”
In a vulnerable, emotional and powerful letter to her fans, Taylor told us how it all went down and as it turns out, Shamrock Capital is one of the good guys.
Hi.
I’m trying to gather my thoughts into something coherent, but right now my mind is just a slideshow. A flashback sequence of all the times I daydreamed about, wished for, and pined away for a chance to get to tell you this news. All the times I was thiiiiiiiiiiiis close, reaching out for it, only for it to fall through. I almost stopped thinking it could ever happen, after 20 years of having the carrot dangled and then yanked away. But that’s all in the past now. I’ve been bursting into tears of joy at random intervals ever since I found out that this is really happening. I really get to say these words:
All of the music I’ve ever made… now belongs… to me.
All
All my music videos.
All the concert films.
The album art and photography.
The unreleased songs.
The voice memos. The magic. The madness.
Every single era.
My entire life’s work.
To say this is my greatest dream come true is actually being pretty reserved about it. To my fans, you know how important this has been to me — so much so that I meticulously re-recorded and released 4 of my albums, calling them Taylor’s Version. The passionate support you showed those albums and the success story you turned The Eras Tour into is why I was able to buy back my music. I can’t thank you enough for helping to reunite me with this art that I have dedicated my life to, but have never owned until now.
All I’ve ever wanted was the opportunity to work hard enough to be able to one day purchase my music outright with no strings attached, no partnership, with full autonomy. I will be forever grateful to everyone at Shamrock Capital for being the first people to ever offer this to me. The way they’ve handled every interaction we’ve had has been honest, fair, and respectful. This was a business deal to them, but I really felt like they saw it for what it was to me: My memories and my sweat and my handwriting and my decades of dreams. I am endlessly thankful. My first tattoo might just be a huge shamrock in the middle of my forehead.
I know, I know. What about Rep TV? Full transparency: I haven’t even re-recorded a quarter of it. The Reputation album was so specific to that time in my life, and I kept hitting a stopping point when I tried to remake it. All that defiance, that longing to be understood while feeling purposely misunderstood, that desperate hope, that shame-born snarl and mischief. To be perfectly honest, it’s the one album in those first 6 that I thought couldn’t be improved upon by redoing it. Not the music, or photos, or videos. So I kept putting it off. There will be a time (if you’re into the idea) for the unreleased vault tracks from that album to hatch. I’ve already completely re-recorded by entire debut album, and I really love how it sounds now. Those 2 albums can still have their moments to re-emerge when the time is right, if that would be something you guys are excited about. But if it happens, it won’t be from a place of sadness and longing for what I wish I could have. It will just be a celebration now.
I’m extremely heartened by the conversations this saga has reignited within my industry among artists and fans. Every time a new artist tells me they negotiated to own their master recordings in their record contract because of this fight, I’m reminded of how important it was for all of this to happen. Thank you for being curious about something that used to be thought of as too industry-centric for broad discussion. You’ll never know how much it means to me that you cared. Every single bit of it counted and ended us up here.
Thanks to you and your goodwill, teamwork, and encouragement, the best things that have ever been mine… finally actually are.
Elated and amazed,
Taylor
Chills. Absolute chills. Tears, even! Elated and amazed is the only way to describe ANYONES feelings where it concerns this 6 year saga coming to this specific end. Taylor Swift has said that she's spent so much of her life wanting to be seen as "good." She wants to do everything right for herself, by others and for the community. This music reclamation is the win that good girls (who are now strong women) have been longing for. I needed a couple of days to really let this sink in - a milestone that I’m not sure I ever expected to see in my lifetime, and of course felt emotional for the woman who has completely sacrificed herself for the betterment of those who can’t. I hope people stumble upon all my gushing and despite not typically falling this deep down the rabbit hole with us, you learn what’s most important about this entire thing - always stand up for yourself.
I understand that those who haven't been along on this journey, may be confused. You may be wondering, “why didn’t she own all of her music already? Don't all artists own their own music?" Well, NO! In fact, it's VERY RARE for an artist to own all of their own art. Prince famously renounced his name and became a "symbol" as a big FUCK YOU to the record labels who wouldn't let him own his own music! To those of us who have no idea what it's like to have others turning a profit on your art, that's why this is important. Exposing the fact that so many artists are taken advantage of, and have been for decades.
Before I continue, I need everyone to wrap their brains around a difficult concept, especially where it concerns a successful celebrity - this entire endeavor was never about the money. Period. Yes, money was involved, and being able to get paid based on your worth is one of the ultimate lessons to learn from this, but for Taylor? Money shmoney. This was about respect. It's about setting the precedent for other artists who get taken advantage of in this same way, and hopefully preventing it from happening again. It's for the greater good, not so she can buy a few more houses.
So, how did we get here?
Let’s take a little trip into the Swift Archives (Tumblr), back to what started this entire thing.
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In 2019, Taylor Swift’s music was sold (without her permission or even being offered the chance to buy it herself) by Scott Borchetta to Scooter Braun for somewhere in the 300 million dollar range. Scooter Braun then went and resold it a year later (again, without giving Taylor the opportunity to purchase it herself in a way that didn’t directly benefit him) to a private equity firm called Shamrock Capital, for a profit. After this sale, Taylor spoke out a second time:
Amidst all this, of course knowing the industry better than the regular non-musical people on earth, the ultimate Queen of Queens Kelly Clarkson had the idea for Taylor to go ahead and re-record all of the albums that no longer belonged to her (and Scott/Scooter made sure to make EVERY SINGLE SECOND of this process an absolute slog.)
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Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, personified.
What people don’t understand unless they remember it happening in real time - Scooter Braun and everyone in his orbit tried to silence, dismiss and discredit Taylor about this. They acted as if she was too big for her britches, like she didn’t deserve respect - narratives like “The Beatles had their music sold too! What makes you so special?” started floating around. The dickwads didn’t like that they were getting exposed - god forbid other artists started fighting for the rights to their masters in the future! She outsmarted them, and they couldn't stomach it. In re-recording and subsequently re-releasing her old albums, not only would the originals be devalued, but the crusade Taylor has now taken on would become as public as possible. Her fans, and those who are simply fans of artists owning their art, came out to support her in droves. It was a loophole that these men never saw coming - a fanbase as supportive as the Swifties, and the support for the movement itself. IDIOTS!!!!!!!
Flash forward to the Eras Tour - the most successful tour in history. Made so, I think lots would agree, by the fact it felt like we were supporting HER, not just some major conglomerate that wanted to prop up a pop star. We had her back, we wanted to see her perform, and we were willing to buy as many vinyls and sweatshirts and concert tickets as we could to be a part of something as important as this. And would you look at that? We were. The Eras Tour was a major part of why Taylor was able to buy these rights back:
To say this is my greatest dream come true is actually being pretty reserved about it. To my fans, you know how important this has been to me — so much so that I meticulously re-recorded and released 4 of my albums, calling them Taylor’s Version. The passionate support you showed those albums and the success story you turned The Eras Tour into is why I was able to buy back my music. I can’t thank you enough for helping to reunite me with this art that I have dedicated my life to, but have never owned until now.
Chills again.
She has said this herself - it feels, to her and to all of her fans, a bit like we all grew up together. Especially those of us who are literally the same age as Taylor (she’s one year older than me!) we've been through it all. Taylor's biggest strength now, and in early days was the fact that she could write a song that isn’t only “relatable,” but such a perfect depiction of feelings that seem too difficult to put into words. She still writes like this. She identifies the feelings we can’t, and she gives us an avenue to take so we can get through it - good or bad. So, when someone who has given us so much (yes, even a billionaire) asks for something in return? The least we could do is support her on this journey to respect, autonomy and validation.
As for the sale itself, we don't know exact numbers, but we do know that the reports last week about Shamrock trying to sell it all for a billion dollars? TOTALLY false. Variety spoke with a reliable source on the matter:
News of a possible sale by Shamrock to Swift was first reported by the New York Post, but a source close to the negotiations disavowed elements of that story, saying the price tag reported was grossly inflated, and that there was no involvement of Scooter Braun. His Ithaca Holdings bought the catalog in 2019 before Shamrock acquired it from him a year later; he no longer participates in any profit from a sale, and Swift’s camp is adamant he had no part in Shamrock’s decision to sell.
Said the source close to the sale: “Contrary to a previous false report, there was no outside party who ‘encouraged’ this sale. All rightful credit for this opportunity should go to the partners at Shamrock Capital and Taylor’s Nashville-based management team only. Taylor now owns all of her music, and this moment finally happened in spite of Scooter Braun, not because of him.”
The source added, “The rumored price range that was reported is highly inaccurate.”
VICTORY. The music is hers, the good guys win, the bad guys can kick fucking rocks. Big shouts to Shamrock Capital for doing the right thing - asking Taylor if she would want her music back, and seemingly giving her a fair price. It looks as if there are still good people in business!
Really, though, are we getting it yet? SHE WON. She beat the odds. Sure, she still had to pay a bit of money for her own voice, handwriting and photos to be HERS, but the important thing is that it happened. She was offered, we (the fans) helped her get to a point where she could afford it, and she did it. In spite of every fucking loser troll who ever said this was a waste of time. SHE WON. And now? We all know that we can win, too. That's what's most important. This whole ordeal is proof that good can, and will, triumph over evil.
But what about Rep TV?
I know, I know. I've been the #1 crusader for the Rep TV movement, and to hear that we aren't getting a re-recording of this album was definitely a shock at first. Then, I laughed out loud. It's objectively hilarious that we (Rep clowns) have been going ON AND ON about this album for years, anticipating it at every turn, only to find out she hasn't even finished it yet? LOL. Though, I completely understand it. I've said that I would imagine Rep being the hardest to re-record - sound wise, but also emotionally. Sure, there are the angry, passionate, robust feelings of being intentionally misunderstood (as she puts it perfectly, of course) but Rep is also a love album. Maybe her most love-y album of all! To revisit that time in your life would be impossible for anyone - making it of course, hard for Taylor.
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As a major Reputation fan, it’s hard to shed that feeling of not being able to enjoy my favorite album fully, and allow myself to appreciate it as much as I do. It’s like when your friend breaks up with someone and says, "oh we hate him now" - that’s kind of how I felt about all of the original Taylor songs after we swore to support this Taylor's Version journey. Now that we can enjoy it, in all its glory, guilt free? I think reputation will be stuck in my head for a year.
Personally, I think this is healing for me, too. I almost think I’ve been using the hypothetical Reputation (Taylor’s version) release date as an excuse to be the day to turn my OWN shit around, and without it I’ve somehow made myself feel small. Almost as if I've forgotten what confidence in myself looks like. Knowing what we know now, I imagine that’s exactly how Taylor has felt this entire time. Rep, whether we like it or not, seems to have become a bit of a bear - how could we go on without it, yet how could we go on with it as a different version? Neither option seemed sufficient. So, Taylor paid somewhere in the 9 figure range so she wouldn't have to do anything to it. Icon.
It's kind of poetic - she really got back her name, and her Reputation. Not a copy, not a redo - they were hers then, and they are hers now. She says that Rep is the only album she felt she couldn't make better - a far cry of course, from the day when she heard she wasn't getting any Grammy nominations for the album. "I'll just make a better album," she said. It turns out it was perfect all along. On top of that - Debut has been recorded and it sounds like we'll get to hear it one day! Along with several bonus tracks for both Rep AND Debut! These albums will still have their moments in the sun and until then, we can fully enjoy them for what they are. I couldn't be more proud.
I know people will skim this and head right to the comments to call me a freak, a parasocial mentally ill bitch, etc etc - go right ahead. To the haters, do you really care this much? Taylor herself said in the “Miss Americana” documentary, that the vitriol she experiences “feels like it’s [about] more than music at this point.” That was in 2020. How is it we’re living in 2025, knowing what we know now, and people question why we’re shouting this accomplishment from the rooftops? I know what this means and I'm more than happy to shout (or cry) about it for as long as I live. I'll be over here supporting wins for women, and for anyone without a voice that this has helped. It was never about the money. It was about the journey - and as Taylor says, "Every single bit of it counted and ended us up here."