Is she exploiting her fans for money? Or is she taking back what is rightfully hers? Taylor Swift, the world’s biggest pop star, is reclaiming her music by re-recording her first six albums: Taylor Swift, Fearless, Speak Now, Red, 1989, and Reputation, all of which were sold by Big Machine Records, her former record label, to one of Taylor Swift’s biggest haters – Scooter Braun. 

Many believe that Swift’s re-releasing of her old music is merely a way for her to capitalize off of her fan base. Many skeptics say she is recycling her old music because she has lost her spark to write original songs.                                                                                                  

Swift does not own the masters to any of the songs she recorded prior to her 2019 album Lover. This means she does not own at least 86 tracks – and that doesn’t even include singles like “Beautiful Eyes”  or “I Heart?”, or The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection.

In an effort to not only stand her ground but to also claim what is rightfully hers, Taylor Swift is re-recording her first six stolen albums, all branded “(Taylor’s Version).”

The run-down on Scooter Braun:

First things first, Braun was openly on Kanye West’s side of the Kanye VS Taylor catastrophe back in 2016 over Kanye’s song “Famous”, which makes derogatory and sexual references to Taylor; lyrics that Taylor says she did not approve nor appreciate.

 However, shortly after Taylor’s public disapproval, Kim Kardashian, Kanye’s then-wife, posted a voice recording supposedly of Taylor Swift approving these lyrics. There have been lengthy debates over the integrity of this recording since then, and multiple opinions are floating around on the internet about this call between West and Swift. 

Shortly thereafter, in 2019, Braun purchased Big Machine Records, the label in which Taylor Swift recorded her first six albums, through his company Ithaca Holdings for $330 million; all of this was done without Swift’s knowledge. 

In a lengthy Tumblr post after hearing about the purchase, Taylor noted that her “music legacy is about to lie in the hands of someone who tried to dismantle it.” After calling this purchase a “betrayal,” Swift announced that she would be using her writing credits to rerecord the six albums, popularly dubbed “stolen albums.” 

Now here we are, December of 2023, two years after the first re-recorded “(Taylor’s Version)” was released. Taylor has now re-released her version of Red, Fearless, Speak Now, and 1989 – and her fans patiently anticipate the announcement of her version of the final two stolen albums: Reputation and Taylor Swift. 

The appeal of “(Taylor’s Version)”:

The term “(Taylor’s Version)” attached to the end of re-recorded song titles, simply means that the rights for that song belong to Taylor Swift, and not Scooter Braun. 

For many fans, this is enough for them to abandon the beloved, pre-matured vocals of Swift, even if they think that a song sounded better pre-re-recording. The Swifties’ loyalty lies with Swift and not their own opinions. Even senior Mirabel Elias-Upham, a self-proclaimed “Super Swiftie”, notes, “I think it was inevitable, but a lot of the songs lack the original emotional depth. They just sound more shallow – but I love them.”

Another senior, Emily Gleason, specifically says, “Some of the re-recorded songs don’t sound as good as the original. I don’t like the way Taylor’s version of  “Shake It Off” and “New Romantics” sound now, but I still love the re-recorded albums.”

Not only do the re-records have a special appeal because of what they mean to Swift, but each re-recorded album includes tracks labeled “(From the Vault)” – tracks that Swift originally recorded, but didn’t quite make the cut for the original album. Some of the most popular vault tracks include “All Too Well (10-minute version)” from Red (Taylor’s Version), “Mr. Perfectly Fine” from Fearless (Taylor’s Version), “I Can See You”, and “Is It Over Now?” from 1989 (Taylor’s Version). Adding vault tracks not only gives an incentive for fans to listen to Taylor’s Version rather than the original version, but they also marginally enhance the value of each album. Another Swiftie, Julia Connelly, says, “I think her re-records are awesome because you get the vault songs.” Connelly also adds, “I love that she’s reclaiming her music.”

Many fans, specifically young girls, are inspired by her motivation to maintain her voice in a business that, more often than not, doesn’t value female voices. Another senior, Chloe Hurd, says that she “loves that Taylor Swift is prioritizing her freedom as a female artist.”

Taylor Swift is one of the most beloved artists of this generation. With an accumulative fanbase of around 518.996 million followers across all social media platforms, it’s safe to say that an enemy to Taylor is an enemy to many. While Scooter Braun may just be a manipulative bully, as many see it, he was wrong for going behind Swift’s back and purchasing her art without her consent or acknowledgment; not only was it wrong, but it was downright cowardly. 

And even now, Braun is paying for his unethical deeds. His A-List clientele is declining annually. It is only a matter of time until Taylor gets the full justice she deserves.