Apparently, it ain’t over ‘till Taylor Swift sings. Since
July, Swift has been in the news for more than her music, including a feud with
Scooter
Braun and Justin Bieber, a rehashing
of an old feud with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian West, and as the target
of Kid
Rock’s scorn over her political views.
On a positive note, she’s gained media attention as the headliner
for Amazon’s Prime Day concert, her Lover-themed fashion collaboration, and
her seemingly lofty love life. Swift may be celebrating the upcoming release of
her Lover album, but the pop singer is already plotting her next musical
project. And it smells a little revenge-y.
Taylor Swift attends the 2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards | Jeff Kravitz/2019 iHeartMediaSwift is backtracking to the Braun conflict
Let’s rewind back to July when Taylor wrote a long Tumblr post about Scott Borchetta, Scooter Braun, and her music catalog. She stated that although she wanted to regain ownership over her masters at Big Machine Records, she didn’t feel the deal she was offered was fair. So, she left the label and said she made peace with the probability that Borchetta would some day sell the record label and her creative works.
“When I left my masters in Scott’s hands, I made peace with the fact that eventually he would sell them. Never in my worst nightmares did I imagine the buyer would be Scooter. Any time Scott Borchetta has heard the words ‘Scooter Braun’ escape my lips, it was when I was either crying or trying not to. He knew what he was doing; they both did. Controlling a woman who didn’t want to be associated with them. In perpetuity. That means forever.”
Last month,
it was revealed that Braun’s company purchased the label in late June and that
deal included the acquisition of the rights to Swift’s first six albums. Her
blog post led to a public feud with Bieber, Braun’s wife, Scott Borchetta, and
others.
Borchetta claimed Swift knew about the deal, although she claimed it was a surprise. The ordeal dragged out for a couple of days, but somewhere in there, fans and friends of Swift’s suggested she start over.
Swift plans to re-record music kept by Big Machine Records
During the social media storm that followed her post, fellow artist Kelly Clarkson chimed in and suggested she do the recordings over again. It seems she is taking that advice to heart.
@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
An interview with Swift for CBS Sunday Morning is set to air on August 25, but the network shared a clip from the pre-taped discussion. According to the Associated Press, when Swift was asked if would ever re-record her old music in order to gain ownership, she replied, “Oh yeah.” The interviewer followed up and asked if that was her plan, and she said, “Yeah, absolutely.”
She wouldn’t be the first. Singer JoJo re-recorded songs from her first two albums to get her masters, and Prince promised to do it, but later worked out a contract with his former label to regain his catalog.
In the meantime, fans can enjoy Swift’s ‘Lover’
Slated to drop on August 23, Lover is Swift’s newest album and will be released under her deal with Universal Music Group’s Republic Records. As Refinery29 pointed out, she switched over to the company in 2018 and feels much more at home on the new label.
Her promotion for the project includes a partnership with Capital One, an agreement with Spotify, a major live-stream event with YouTube music, a special arrangement with Amazon, and a deal with Target.
Starting on Friday, superfans will be bombarded with music and images from Lover. Something tell us if she re-records her old songs, they’ll be marketed with the same enthusiasm as this project.
