Why Taylor Swift is Recrecording Her Albums and What You Can Learn from It

On November 12, 2021, Taylor Swift re-released her second album, Red, with the first being Fearless. This highly-anticipated album took the music world by storm in just a matter of hours.

Not only does this "Taylor's version" of Red include her previous tracks, but even some extended versions and a few brand-new records. For instance, we saw two versions of All too well—a re-reprocessed version from the initial album and an extended version that spanned 10 minutes. 

As the Empire State Building came into action, with its top lit up in red to celebrate the album's revamped version, many "Swifties" were curious about the American singer-songwriter rerecording her albums.

Why Is Taylor Swift Rerecording Her Decade-Old Albums? 

Behind the dreamy soundscapes is an artist fighting for her work's production and distribution methods. In 2005, Swift signed a contract with Big Machine Records, which had to expire in 2018. Just as regular musicians' contracts, Big Machine Records owned the original recordings of Swift's albums. 

After parting ways with Big Machine Records, Swift switched labels to Universal Music Group, leaving the ownership of master recordings to the former.  

Re-recording songs would help Taylor Swift gain rights over her work.

The trouble began when a private equity group, Itachi Holdings, purchased Big Machine Records. Scooter Braun, the owner of the entity and a powerhouse music manager, sold the masters to another company—Shamrock Holdings—reportedly for a whopping $300 million. 

Braun's move was clever in a business context since these recordings drew profits whenever the songs were streamed or purchased. This means that Braun was being rewarded every time Swifties tuned into Taylor Swift's original tracks. 

However, on the personal front, this sparked controversy and was seen as a contentious act. That was when Taylor Swift decided to claim the ownership of her songs by re-recording the original six albums. 

"Artists should own their work for so many reasons," said Taylor Swift in her Instagram post at the start of 2021. "But the most screamingly obvious one is that the artist is the only one who really knows that body of work." 

Re-recording songs would help Taylor Swift gain rights over her work while her fans could enjoy her music as before.

Lessons We Can Learn from This Move 

As much as Swift has done herself a favor, she has left us a few takeaways for every artist. Let's see what we can learn from this story. 

Take Control of Your Destiny 

Taylor swift has long known that artists, even those who've become a brand like she has, are vulnerable to exploitation. Her response shook the public and made everyone contemplate the music industry's secretly cynical game plans.   

As usual, the power dynamics and rewards had been skewing away from the artist towards labels, publishers, and stakeholders. The central motivation for reclaiming her work was to get the biggest piece of the pie, which she rightly deserves. After all, an empire built out of songs that narrate her stories shouldn't come so cheap! 

Putting "(Taylor's version)" next to every re-recorded song is a clever way of pointing at the true version of the song to buy/stream. 

Taylor Swift has taught us to stand for our rights—even when it's unconventional, and the odds are low. Her entrepreneurial savvy and her fans' loyalty helped her take this bold step and reclaim what's hers.  

Cultivate Affection

In an interview with Seth Meyers, Swift said that she enjoyed the opportunity to "go back and kind of live this nostalgia with fans who are the reason I get to do this. I get to do things I know they wish I would have done the first time."

That's an important point for every business owner or entrepreneur — to create a bonding with their clients that leads to affection and loyalty in return.  

"I really do feel like I know them really well," Swift told Jimmy Fallon. "I go online. I look at what they think about things. I really care about their opinions... I think I know what they are wanting."

By considering the opinions and feelings of her fans, Taylor Swift is able to provide a personalized experience. 

Her short film that featured the extended version of her song, "All Too Well," secured 37 million views on YouTube in just 4 days. That's a fine example of going the distance for your fans and nurturing affection in the process. 

Enjoy the Journey

Artists are regularly seen venting against their contractual obligations but rarely do they go through the hassle of rerecording their albums. Turns out, Taylor Swift is not an average, servile artist considering the efforts she's been putting in re-releasing albums.

But what made it all possible for her? 

Granted, money and ownership mainly motivated Swift to rerecord her albums, but her passion for music made the journey possible. Her new albums seem to have more effort and improvements, testifying that Taylor Swift is good at what she does and she enjoys it thoroughly. 

The bottom line—if you have the fun factor in what you do, your passion for it will serve as a sort of cake-walk as you battle your way through adversities.