Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift on Oct. 15 in New York City
(Photo Courtesy of Gotham/GC Images/Getty Images)
After a monster performance from Travis Kelce to start the week on Sunday, his girlfriend, Taylor Swift, looks to end the week in even bigger fashion. In my last installment of Taylor Swift for Dummies, I mentioned that Swift was born in 1989 and went on to write an album with the same title. Well, this Friday, October 27th, exactly 9 years after the original version came out, our ears will be blessed with the re-recording of 1989 (Taylor’s Version). A lot of you may be wondering what Taylor’s Version even means, and if that’s the case, you know by the title that you’re in the right place.
It all started back in 2005 when Swift signed a deal with Big Machine Records, a label that is notorious in the country industry with artists like Tim McGraw and Dolly Parton. Swift was 15 at the time and in her stint with the label, went on to record six studio albums: Taylor Swift, Fearless, Speak Now, Red, 1989, and Reputation (albums we will focus on later). Obviously, money rolled in, and things were going well, but there was one clause in her contract that would change everything.
As a part of the original deal Swift signed, it stated that Big Machine Records would obtain sole ownership of the masters for all six albums in exchange for a cash advance. This was all fine until November 2017. Swift knew that her contract with Big Machine Records was coming to a close and she desperately wanted to have ownership of her music, so she turned to the founder of the label, Scott Borchetta, and begged for the rights. Borchetta did offer her a chance but had one condition: in order to earn back one album, she had to record a new one in return.
Swift saw the writing on the wall, because not only was this borderline exploitation, but she also knew that if she signed on again Borchetta would go ahead and still sell the label. This meant the new buyers would have control of her as well. Although it was a tough decision Swift chose freedom and as a result had to leave her past behind. In November 2018 the You Belong With Me singer made an official departure from Big Machine Records and signed a new deal with Republic Records. In the new deal, Swift made sure that going forward she would own all her masters.
Seven months later, Borchetta went on with his plans to sell the label for $330 million to Ithaca Holdings. That deal not only included the company but also all of Swift's masters. The main investor in the company…Scooter Braun. Essentially Braun can be compared to Johnny Lawrence or even Regina George, he has not only manipulated Swift but also added fuel to the fire by managing Kanye West and having part in the song Famous (another topic we will get into in the future) which sounded more like a poor excuse for a middle school diss track on Swift.
Now, Braun not only bullied her but also owned and profited off all her music. Every time someone streamed her song or used it in any way, that money didn’t go to the rightful creator; it went into Braun’s pockets. Therefore, her six studio albums weren’t even hers. So, what’d she do?
Did Travis and the Chiefs back down against the Eagles in the Super Bowl?
Nope.
Neither.
Did.
Taylor.
She knew she was never going to get back what she lost so she decided to re-record each of her first six albums, keeping the exact same title but adding “(Taylor’s Version)” at the end.
Swift has so far released three out of six, and the fourth re-recording will be out this Friday. If you haven’t listened to 1989 before, you’re in for a treat. And if you have, make sure you check out the 5 vault tracks that will be on the new version.
If you’ve learned one thing, it’s to never say the name Scooter Braun in a room full of Swifties and always make sure that when you play a song from one of her albums that’s been re-recorded, it's Taylor’s Version because trust me, you will get yelled at. That's a wrap on week two!