Four years ago, Taylor Swift announced plans to embark on one of her most ambitious professional undertakings to date – re-recording her albums to attain ownership of her masters.
If you forgot, the 33-year-old “Blank Space” pop titan came to the decision after Scooter Braun purchased Big Machine Label Group, effectively gaining control of Taylor‘s recordings.
Since then, she’s been rolling out Taylor’s Version of her earliest albums, filling them with previously unreleased tracks that she’s unearthed from The Vault. Next up is 1989 (Taylor’s Version). After that, all that’s left to tackle is her self-titled debut and Reputation.
We looked back on what Taylor had to say about the big task four years ago. Interestingly, the anniversary this year lines up with additional news involving Scooter.
Read more about Taylor Swift’s special anniversary…
On August 21, 2019, Taylor said that it was “absolutely” a plan to re-record her albums in a teaser for an interview with CBS Sunday.
She provided more information the following day while on Good Morning America. “My contract says that starting November 2020, I can record albums one through five all over again,” she explained. “I think that artists deserve to own their work. I just feel very passionately about that.”
“It’s next year, it’s right around the corner. I’m really excited,” she added.
Looking back now, it’s clear that the massive undertaking was a success for Taylor. Every re-release she’s unveiled thus far has topped the Billboard 200 albums chart. The 10-minute version of “All Too Well” on Red (Taylor’s Version) topped the Billboard Hot 100.
Where does Scotter come in? In 2023, the anniversary lands amid reports that the music manager has parted ways with two big artists on his roster – Ariana Grande after 10 years and Demi Lovato after four.
There were recently reports, which have since been denied, that another of Scooter‘s big clients was planning to leave.
If you missed it, earlier this summer the artist who first suggested Taylor re-record her albums revealed how Scooter responded to the recommendation.