Taylor Swift reclaims full ownership of her music catalogue

Pop icon Taylor Swift has announced that she now holds the complete rights to her entire music catalogue, including the master recordings of her first six albums.

In a letter posted on her official website on Friday (May 30), Swift shared, "All of the music I've ever made… now belongs… to me." She revealed that the rights were purchased directly from Shamrock Capital, the private equity firm that had earlier acquired her catalogue from music executive Scooter Braun.

"This was an outright purchase—no strings attached, no partnership—full autonomy," Swift wrote, calling the acquisition the realisation of her "greatest dream".

Swift had initially lost control of her early recordings in 2019 when Big Machine, her former label, sold the masters to Braun. The following year, Braun sold them to Shamrock Capital. In response, Swift began re-recording her albums under the "Taylor's Version" series, releasing new versions of Fearless, Red, Speak Now, and 1989.

In her message, Swift expressed gratitude to Shamrock Capital, saying, "Thank you to Shamrock for being the first people to offer me this opportunity… They handled everything honestly, fairly and respectfully."

She also thanked her fans for their continued support. "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," she wrote.

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Swift noted that while the re-recording of Reputation is still in progress, her self-titled debut album Taylor Swift is ready. "Maybe one day those two albums can still have their moments to re-emerge when the time is right," she said, adding that future releases will come from "a place of celebration".

With this milestone, Swift stated that the purpose of her project has evolved. "It's not about reclaiming anymore. It's about celebrating."