Misplaced Pages

#94905

174-475: Although the ballroom opened in November 2007, it didn't undergo transformation until November 2011 when the inaugural Battle 4 Atlantis was played. The Ballroom is 50,000 sq ft (4,600 m) , has dimensions of 289 ft × 165 ft (88 m × 50 m) and has a 26 ft (7.9 m) ceiling, making it one of the lowest ceilings for a college basketball venue. Taylor Swift performed at

348-579: A Christmas tree farm in Pennsylvania that her father had purchased from one of his clients, and she spent her summers at her family's vacation home in Stone Harbor, New Jersey , where she occasionally performed acoustic songs at a local coffee shop. She is a Christian and attended preschool and kindergarten at a Montessori school run by the Bernardine Sisters of St. Francis before transferring to

522-409: A FaceTime screenshot of Bieber, West and Braun, posted to Bieber's Instagram after Kardashian released the snippet. Swift accused Borchetta of betraying her loyalty for selling the masters to Braun despite being aware of Braun's role in antagonizing Swift. Passman argued that Borchetta never gave Swift "an opportunity to purchase her masters, or the label, outright with a check in the way [Borchetta]

696-416: A country singer with the albums Taylor Swift (2006) and Fearless (2008). Her singles " Teardrops on My Guitar ", " Love Story ", and " You Belong with Me " found crossover success on country and pop radio formats. She experimented with rock on Speak Now (2010) and electronic on Red (2012), later re-calibrating her image from country to pop with the synth-pop album 1989 (2014);

870-677: A stalker in Gelsenkirchen , Germany, and three children were killed in a stabbing attack at a Swift-themed workshop in Southport , England, leading to civil unrest in the UK . In August, all three of the Eras Tour concerts in Vienna were canceled following the arrest of two suspects for allegedly planning an Islamic State -inspired terrorist attack in the city . The plan was uncovered by US Intelligence and

1044-482: A " sharecropping " model. According to professor R. Polk Wagner of the University of Pennsylvania Law School , Swift associating her lyrics with a range of goods and services through trademark applications represents her understanding that "she is bigger than the music". He added "it's more of a branding right, thinking of Taylor Swift as a conglomerate ." Doug McMahon of Irish firm McCann Fitzgerald LLP opined that

1218-399: A "bait-and-switch maneuver, planting roots in loamy country soil, then pivoting to pop". Clash wrote that she has the versatility to "no longer [...] be defined by any genre or sound label". According to Ann Powers , Swift's sound is genre-agnostic, blending and "reconfiguring" elements of country, R&B, indie pop , and hip hop. Swift possesses a mezzo-soprano vocal range and

1392-525: A 10-minute-long song topping the Hot 100 teaches artists to "not listen" to what the industry has to say. " This Love (Taylor's Version) ", a track from 1989 (Taylor's Version) , was released on May 6, 2022. In September 2022, Swift reportedly turned down an offer to headline the Super Bowl LVII halftime show in 2023, refusing to play the show until her re-recording process is finished. In March 2023, ahead of

1566-505: A 100 percent stake through its wholly owned subsidiary , Hybe America. The deal, valued at $ 1 billion, brought the SB Projects and Big Machine rosters, including Bieber, Grande, Lovato, J Balvin , Thomas Rhett , Florida Georgia Line , and Lady A , together with K-pop acts like BTS , Tomorrow X Together , and Seventeen . Braun joined the board of Hybe. In a September 2022 interview with NPR 's Jay Williams, Braun stated he regrets

1740-406: A November 2021 report by Financial Times , Braun believed that Swift was "just bluffing" about re-recording. The newspaper stated that, after purchasing Big Machine, Braun began searching for buyers for the masters of Swift's back catalog, and that he and co-investors told potential buyers that Swift would not actually re-record the albums, calling her announcement an "empty threat"; Braun also told

1914-491: A ceasefire with Swift, such as a joint-venture partnership, to prevent her from re-recording, according to an undisclosed group of "four people close to the situation", three of whom said the firm was "unhappy to be dragged into the dispute in such a public way". Business Insider reporter Anna Silman released an investigation exclusive in March 2022. Silman wrote that one of Swift's many reasons to detest Braun's procurement of

SECTION 10

#1732868866095

2088-407: A change in the digital music era, where artists are more informed of their ownership and would not rely on record labels for marketing as heavily as in the past. Recognizing the visibility she brought to "one of the music industry's longest standing issues", Pitchfork critic Sam Sodomsky said Swift "is also so huge—not just an artist but a brand—that she can enact change by wielding the leverage of

2262-517: A client of Braun, posted an Instagram story congratulating Braun on the purchase but deleted it after Swift posted her statement. David Geffen , a music executive whom Braun has often described as a mentor, supported Braun but said "only time will tell who made the wise decision". On November 19, 2019, US senator Elizabeth Warren , who was one of the Democratic candidates in the 2020 United States presidential election , stated on Twitter that Swift

2436-511: A computer repairman and local musician who also assisted Swift with writing an original song. In 2003, Swift and her parents started working with the talent manager Dan Dymtrow. With his help, Swift modeled for Abercrombie & Fitch and had an original song included on a Maybelline compilation CD. After performing original songs at an RCA Records showcase, 13-year-old Swift was given an artist development deal and began to travel regularly to Nashville with her mother. To help Swift break into

2610-886: A corresponding melody. On her first three studio albums, love, heartbreak, and insecurities, from an adolescent perspective, were dominant themes. She delved into the tumult of toxic relationships on Red , and embraced nostalgia and post-romance positivity on 1989 . Reputation was inspired by the downsides of Swift's fame, and Lover detailed her realization of the "full spectrum of love". Other themes in Swift's music include family dynamics, friendship, alienation, self-awareness , and tackling vitriol, especially sexism . She often references or draws inspiration from historical events and figures. Swift's confessional lyrics received positive reviews from critics, who highlighted their vivid details and emotional engagement, which they found uncommon in pop music, although some perceived her as

2784-511: A decade ago and stick with the originals." Any time Taylor brings attention to an issue, it gets magnified   ... She has a very loud megaphone and she's not afraid to use it. She's had great success in effectuating change. Many opined that Swift's moves will bring about systemic changes in the music industry and artist-label relationships. Meredith Rose, senior policy counsel at Public Knowledge , wrote in her American Bar Association post that "if Swift—who is, without exaggeration, one of

2958-519: A defining sound of her recalibrated pop artistry and image, inspired by the music of Phil Collins , Annie Lennox , Peter Gabriel , and Madonna . 1989 , the first album in this direction, incorporates electronic arrangements consisting of dense synthesizers and drum machines . Swift expanded on the electronic production on her next albums; Reputation consists of hip hop, R&B, and EDM influences; and Lover features eclectic elements from country, pop-punk, and folk rock . When Swift embraced

3132-546: A designated period of time can "go too far and, in effect, violate the public policy the Framers had in mind when drafting the Useful Art Clauses ." American author Steve Stoute said "you build it; we make you think that you own it; you act like you own it; but at the end of the day, we own it." He opined that Swift's dilemma is a "painful" illustration of the fundamental issue with the music business that has been following

3306-414: A dip in streams that will be mimicked in the rights holders' income statement—is something only very, very few artists can do. Taylor Swift is, indeed, amongst that handful. The Wall Street Journal journalist Neil Shah wrote, for using her back catalog in mass media, such as for commercials and movies, Swift can shut out Shamrock and Braun by directly lending the concerned song to the third party, approving

3480-463: A documentary about Faith Hill , she became determined to pursue a country-music career in Nashville, Tennessee . At 11, Swift traveled to Nashville with her mother to visit record labels and submit demo tapes of Dolly Parton and Dixie Chicks karaoke covers. She was rejected by all the labels, which led her to focus on songwriting. She started learning the guitar at 12 with the help of Ronnie Cremer,

3654-469: A fragile, juvenile artist, a label she has consistently challenged. Critics also praised her melodic compositions; Rolling Stone described Swift as "a songwriting savant with an intuitive gift for verse-chorus-bridge architecture ". NPR dubbed Swift "a master of the vernacular in her lyrics", remarking that her songs offer emotional engagement because "the wit and clarity of her arrangements turn them from standard fare to heartfelt disclosures". Despite

SECTION 20

#1732868866095

3828-401: A generally soft and breathy timbre that Rolling Stone deemed versatile. Reviews of Swift's early country albums criticized her vocals as weak and strained compared to those of other female country singers. Despite the criticism, most reviewers appreciated that Swift refrained from correcting her pitch with Auto-Tune and how she prioritized "intimacy over power and nuance" to communicate

4002-539: A genre-spanning record that incorporated eclectic styles of pop and rock such as Britrock , dubstep , and dance-pop . The album opened at number one on the Billboard 200 with 1.21 million sales and was Swift's first number-one album in the UK. Its lead single, " We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together ", was her first number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and its third single, " I Knew You Were Trouble ", reached

4176-555: A global portfolio of 272 companies, including Supreme , Dunkin' Brands , and many aerospace and defense companies. Critical commentary on Swift's decision to re-record remained favorable as well. Variety 's Chris Willman wrote that Swift's highly publicized move to re-record her back catalog would inspire other artists to "further deputize or weaponize fans in their own business disputes", unlike comparatively less successful attempts by her contemporaries to own their music. The Atlantic 's Spencer Kornhaber opined that

4350-576: A global publishing deal with Universal Music Publishing Group after her 16-year contract with Sony/ATV expired. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Swift surprise-released two "sister albums" that she recorded and produced with Antonoff and Aaron Dessner : Folklore in July and Evermore in December. Joe Alwyn co-wrote and co-produced a few songs under the pseudonym William Bowery. Both albums incorporated

4524-454: A live album of Swift's performances at a 2008 radio show. Swift said she did not authorize the release, and dismissed it as "just another case of shameless greed in the time of Coronavirus ". Live from Clear Channel Stripped 2008 earned only 33 units in the US and did not chart anywhere. From August 2019 to January 2020, Big Machine released 4,000 vinyl editions of the singles from Taylor Swift for

4698-400: A muted indie folk and alternative rock production; each was supported by three singles catering to US pop, country, and triple A radio formats. The singles were " Cardigan ", " Betty ", and " Exile " from Folklore , and " Willow ", " No Body, No Crime ", and " Coney Island " from Evermore . Folklore was the bestselling album of 2020 in the US and, together with "Cardigan", made Swift

4872-630: A near- rap delivery which emphasizes rhythm and cadence over melody. She uses her lower register vocals extensively in "Cardigan" and both her lower and upper registers in Evermore ; the musicologist Alyssa Barca described her timbre in the upper register as "breathy and bright" and the lower register as "full and dark". Reviews in The New York Times , Variety and The Atlantic were more appreciative of Swift's vocals in her later albums. She ranked 102nd on Rolling Stone 's 2023 list of

5046-483: A new global contract with Republic Records , a New York -based label owned by Universal Music Group . Variety reported that Swift's catalog constituted around 80 percent of Big Machine's revenue. Swift revealed a negotiation as part of her Republic contract—any sale of Universal's shares in Spotify , the largest on-demand music streaming platform in the world, resulted in equity shares for all of Universal's artists on

5220-452: A non- recoupable basis. The contract also allowed Swift to fully own the albums distributed by the label—both the masters and the publishing rights—starting with her seventh studio album, Lover (2019), and as reported by Forbes , offered a royalty payment of 50 percent or more compared to the 10 to 15 percent Swift "likely" had been receiving from Big Machine. Scooter and I have been aligned with 'big vision brings big results' from

5394-524: A non-recoupable portion of the proceeds among its artists. Swift's first album with Republic Records, Lover , was released in August 2019. She produced the album with Antonoff, Louis Bell , Frank Dukes , and Joel Little . Lover peaked atop the charts of such territories as Australia, Canada, Ireland, Mexico, Norway, Sweden, the UK, and the US. The album spawned five singles: " Me! ", " You Need to Calm Down ", " Lover ", " The Man ", and " Cruel Summer ";

Imperial Arena - Misplaced Pages Continue

5568-569: A pop identity, rockist critics regarded her move as an erosion of her country music songwriting authenticity, but others regarded it as necessary for Swift's artistic evolution and defended her as a pioneer of poptimism . Her 2020 albums Folklore and Evermore explore alternative and indie styles of rock and folk , and both incorporate a subtle, stripped-back soundscape with orchestration , synthesizers, and drum pads. The latter experiments with varied song structures, asymmetric time signatures , and diverse instruments. Critics deemed

5742-551: A private and mutually satisfactory solution, Taylor made a unilateral decision last night to enlist her fanbase." On November 18, it issued a statement agreeing to grant all licenses of its artists' performances for streaming and rebroadcast on platforms approved by the AMAs, without naming Swift. It also stated that Big Machine negotiated with the AMAs producer, Dick Clark Productions (DCP). DCP denied agreeing to issue any statement with Big Machine. Swift's publicist Tree Paine released

5916-463: A rebellious teenager in an CSI: Crime Scene Investigation episode and hosted and performed as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live ; she was the first host ever to write their own opening monologue. Swift's third studio album, Speak Now , was released in October 2010. Written solely by Swift, the album debuted the Billboard 200 with over one million US copies sold first week and became

6090-407: A recording must obtain a copyright license authorized by the master-owner. Before the emergence of digital platforms, musicians relied on record labels to promote their music through means such as airplay or physical distributions to retailers. Labels would typically require artists to give them the rights to the masters "in perpetuity". On the other hand, owning the musical work is referred to as

6264-480: A slight vocal twang , in addition to pop melodies and rock influences; Speak Now draws on rock styles such as pop rock , pop-punk , and 1980s arena rock . Critics argued that country was an indicator of Swift's narrative songwriting rather than musical direction and accused her of causing mainstream country music to stray from its roots. After the critical debate around Red 's eclectic pop, rock, and electronic styles, Swift chose 1980s synth-pop as

6438-564: A songwriter. In August 2018, as per Billboard , Swift's attorney Donald Passman and her management team proposed to Big Machine Label Group that the masters be sold back to Swift as their contract was nearing expiration; the label group responded that it would happen only if she renewed her recording contract with Big Machine, agreeing to create more albums under the label for the next decade. The two parties never arrived at an agreement. Ultimately, Swift's contract with Big Machine Records expired in November 2018, following which she signed

6612-915: A statement the next day. Paine said Swift avoided performing her older songs at the Tmall Double Eleven Gala 2020, a Singles Day event in Shanghai , China, and sang only three songs from Lover , because "it was clear that Big Machine Label Group felt any televised performance of catalog songs violated her agreement", attaching a screenshot of a portion of an alleged email from Big Machine that reads: "Please be advised that [Big Machine] will not agree to issue licenses for existing recordings or waivers of its re-recording restrictions in connection with these two projects: The Netflix documentary and The Alibaba 'Double Eleven' event." Paine also denied Big Machine's statement that said Swift "has admitted to contractually owing millions of dollars and multiple assets" to

6786-430: A statement: "We made this investment because we believe in the immense value and opportunity that comes with [Swift's] work. We fully respect and support her decision and, while we hoped to formally partner, we also knew [Swift's re-recording venture] was a possible outcome that we considered." According to a June 2023 Music Business Worldwide report, Braun and Ithaca earned a profit of $ 265 million from buying and selling

6960-436: A time, one for every new one I turned in.   ... I learned about Scooter Braun's purchase of my masters as it was announced to the world. All I could think about was the incessant, manipulative bullying I've received at his hands for years. – Taylor Swift, Tumblr , June 30, 2019 On June 30, 2019, Big Machine announced via social media that the label group had been acquired by Braun, following which Swift denounced

7134-469: Is "one of many" whose work has been threatened by private equity firms, who keep "gobbling up more and more of our economy, costing jobs and crushing entire industries". Holding private equity firms accountable was a large part of Warren's presidential campaign. US representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also sided with Swift. She tweeted: "Private equity groups' predatory practices actively hurt millions of Americans. Their leveraged buyouts have destroyed

Imperial Arena - Misplaced Pages Continue

7308-536: Is a "good man" and that his actions were not personal. American entertainer Todrick Hall , who was formerly a client of Braun, supported Swift and accused Braun of homophobia ; Hall engaged in a back-and-forth argument with Lovato on Twitter . In an Instagram post, Bieber apologized to Swift for the FaceTime screenshot (with Braun and West) he posted in 2016 with a caption targeting her; however, Bieber defended Braun, saying Braun has supported Swift since she let Bieber be

7482-677: Is an American media proprietor , talent manager , and businessman known for managing the careers of music artists Justin Bieber , Ariana Grande , Demi Lovato , and Kanye West through his media company, SB Projects . In June 2019, The Wall Street Journal , followed by other mainstream media, reported that Braun's holding company , Ithaca Holdings LLC ., had fully acquired Big Machine Label Group by purchasing it for an estimated $ 330 million. The purchase encompassed all aspects of Big Machine's business, including its client roster, distribution deals, publishing rights, and music masters, and

7656-455: Is filled with under qualified bullies & morons with way too much power for their own good". When questioned about his stance, English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran said: "I have been speaking directly to [Swift], like I always do." American singer Kelly Clarkson , in a tweet, urged Swift to re-record the albums: "You should go in & re-record all the songs that you don't own the masters on exactly how you did them   ... I'd buy all of

7830-492: Is now apparently doing for others". In response, Borchetta published a blog post titled "It's Time for Some Truth" on the Big Machine website. On June 25, 2019, Big Machine shareholders and Braun's Ithaca Holdings held a phone call regarding the transaction. While Swift's father Scott was one of the label's minority shareholders (4 percent), he did not join the call due to a "very strict" non-disclosure agreement . A final call

8004-608: The 2009 Country Music Association Awards , Swift won Album of the Year for Fearless and was named Entertainer of the Year, the youngest person to win the honor. Throughout 2009, Swift featured on and wrote other musicians' releases. She featured on " Half of My Heart " by John Mayer , whom she was romantically linked with in late 2009. She wrote " Best Days of Your Life " for Kellie Pickler , co-wrote and featured on Boys Like Girls ' " Two Is Better Than One , and wrote two songs—" You'll Always Find Your Way Back Home " and " Crazier "—for

8178-580: The 2014 American Music Awards , Swift received the inaugural Dick Clark Award for Excellence. On her 25th birthday in 2014, the Grammy Museum at L.A. Live opened an exhibit in her honor in Los Angeles that ran until October 4, 2015. In 2015, Swift won the Brit Award for International Female Solo Artist . "Bad Blood" won Video of the Year and Best Collaboration at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards . At

8352-463: The 2020 Sundance Film Festival . Swift's re-recordings of her first six studio albums began with Fearless (Taylor's Version) and Red (Taylor's Version) , which were released in April and November 2021. Both peaked atop the Billboard 200, and the former was the first re-recorded album to do so. Fearless (Taylor's Version) was preceded by " Love Story (Taylor's Version) ", which made Swift

8526-470: The 50th Annual Grammy Awards . In 2008, she opened for Rascal Flatts again and briefly dated the singer Joe Jonas . Swift's second studio album, Fearless , was released in November 2008 in North America, and in March 2009 in other markets. On the Billboard 200, Fearless spent 11 weeks at number one, becoming Swift's first chart topper and the longest-running number-one female country album. It

8700-543: The 58th Grammy Awards (2016), 1989 won Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album , making Swift the first woman to win Album of the Year twice. Swift dated the DJ Calvin Harris from March 2015 to June 2016. They co-wrote the song " This Is What You Came For ", featuring vocals from Rihanna ; Swift was initially credited under the pseudonym Nils Sjöberg. She recorded " I Don't Wanna Live Forever " with Zayn Malik for

8874-688: The Billboard Hot 100. According to Billboard , Swift was the top-earning solo artist in the US and the top-earning musician worldwide of 2021. She won six American Music Awards including Artist of the Year in 2022 . At the MTV Video Music Awards, Swift won her third and fourth trophies for Video of the Year with All Too Well: The Short Film , her self-directed short film that accompanies "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)", in 2022 and "Anti-Hero" in 2023 . During this period, Swift won three Grammy Awards: Best Music Video for All Too Well: The Short Film and Best Pop Vocal Album and Album of

SECTION 50

#1732868866095

9048-612: The Eras Tour , Swift released a re-recording of the Speak Now deluxe edition track "If This Was a Movie", along with re-recordings of " Safe & Sound " and " Eyes Open " from The Hunger Games: Songs from District 12 and Beyond . At the tour's first Nashville show on May 5, Swift announced Speak Now (Taylor's Version) , which was released on July 7. It broke the Spotify record for the most-single days streams for an album in 2023, made Swift

9222-585: The Grammy Award for Album of the Year , MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year and the IFPI Global Recording Artist of the Year at least four times each. She is an advocate of artists' rights and women's empowerment. Taylor Alison Swift was born on December 13, 1989, in West Reading, Pennsylvania . She is named after the singer-songwriter James Taylor . Her father, Scott Kingsley Swift,

9396-555: The Sony -owned RCA Records due to her concerns that "development deals may shelve artists". In November 2004, Swift participated in an industry showcase at Nashville's Bluebird Café , where she was noticed by a DreamWorks Records executive, Scott Borchetta , who had an idea of establishing his own independent record label . Eventually, Swift signed a 13-year recording deal with Borchetta's new Nashville-based label, Big Machine Records , as its first recording artist. The deal gave Big Machine

9570-552: The Speak Now World Tour from February 2011 to March 2012 and the live album Speak Now World Tour – Live . At the 54th Annual Grammy Awards in 2012, Swift performed "Mean", which won Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance . She was named Songwriter/Artist of the Year by the Nashville Songwriters Association (2010 and 2011), Woman of the Year by Billboard (2011), and Entertainer of

9744-654: The Wyndcroft School . When her family moved to Wyomissing , she attended Wyomissing Area Junior/Senior High School . As a child, she performed in Berks Youth Theatre Academy productions and traveled regularly to New York City for vocal and acting lessons. Her early love for country music was influenced by Shania Twain , Patsy Cline , LeAnn Rimes , and the Dixie Chicks , and she spent weekends performing at local festivals and events. After watching

9918-475: The opening act of her Fearless Tour and added "years have passed, we haven't crossed paths and gotten to communicate our differences, hurts or frustrations. So for you to take it to social media and get people to hate on Scooter isn't fair." Bieber's wife Hailey called him a "gentleman" under the post, which prompted Cara Delevingne to criticize the Biebers for what she considered as insincere amity. Grande, also

10092-470: The publishing rights , which covers the musical materials before it became a sound recording—the lyrics, melodies, sheet music , composition, and instrumental arrangements. Songwriters generally own the publishing rights, and are referred to as " publishers " of the music. Taylor Swift is a singer-songwriter from West Reading, Pennsylvania , United States. In 2003, at age 13, she visited major record labels in Nashville, Tennessee , for record deals but

10266-490: The soundtrack of Hannah Montana: The Movie , in which she had a cameo appearance. She wrote and recorded " Today Was a Fairytale " for the soundtrack of Valentine's Day (2010), in which she had her acting debut. "Today Was a Fairytale" was her first number-one single on the Canadian Hot 100 . While shooting Valentine's Day in October 2009, Swift dated co-star Taylor Lautner . On television, she made her debut as

10440-639: The soundtrack of Where the Crawdads Sing (2022), she wrote and recorded " Carolina ", which received nominations for Best Original Song at the Golden Globes and Best Song Written for Visual Media at the Grammy Awards. In 2023, Swift was the most streamed artist on Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music; and the first act to place number one on the year-end Billboard top artists list in three different decades (2009, 2015 and 2023). She had five out of

10614-495: The world's richest female musician . She has been listed amongst history's greatest artists by publications such as Rolling Stone , Billboard and Forbes , as well as the only individual from the arts to have been named the Time Person of the Year (2023). Her accolades include 14 Grammy Awards , a Primetime Emmy Award , 40 American Music Awards , 40 Billboard Music Awards , and 30 MTV Video Music Awards , having won

SECTION 60

#1732868866095

10788-454: The 10 best-selling albums of 2023 in the US, a record since Luminate began tracking US music sales in 1991. Besides music, Swift had a supporting role in the period comedy film Amsterdam (2022) and began writing an original script for her directorial feature film debut with Searchlight Pictures . In March 2023, Swift embarked on the Eras Tour , a retrospective tour covering all her studio albums. Media outlets extensively covered

10962-465: The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time: "A decade ago, including her on this list would have been a controversial move, but recent releases like Folklore , Evermore , and Midnights officially settled the argument." Laura Snapes of The Guardian said that Swift's "vocal directness" enables her to express wide-ranging feelings, highlighting some trademarks such as "yo-yoing vocal yelp" and "climactic, processed cri de coeur ". Amanda Petrusich praised how

11136-465: The 2020 albums Folklore and Evermore , and subdued pop genres on Midnights (2022) and The Tortured Poets Department (2024). She began re-recording her Big Machine albums as Taylor's Version since 2021, due to an ownership dispute with the label . Through the 2020s, she garnered the US number one songs " Cardigan ", " Willow ", " All Too Well ", " Anti-Hero ", " Cruel Summer ", " Is It Over Now? ", and " Fortnight ". Her sixth concert tour,

11310-621: The American Music Awards, Swift won three awards including Artist of the Year for a third record time ( 2020 ) and Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist and Favorite Pop/Rock Album ( 2021 ). Swift played Bombalurina in the film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber 's musical Cats (2019), for which she co-wrote and recorded the Golden Globe-nominated original song " Beautiful Ghosts ". The documentary Miss Americana , which chronicled parts of Swift's life and career, premiered at

11484-615: The American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift entered into a dispute with her former record label, Big Machine Records , its founder Scott Borchetta , and its new owner Scooter Braun , over the ownership of the masters of her first six studio albums . Ultimately, Swift re-recorded several of the albums and released them between 2021 and 2023 as Fearless (Taylor's Version) , Red (Taylor's Version) , Speak Now (Taylor's Version) , and 1989 (Taylor's Version) . The dispute drew widespread media coverage and provoked debate and discussion in

11658-463: The Bahamas is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her biographical songwriting, artistic reinventions, and cultural impact , Swift is a leading figure in popular music and the subject of widespread public interest . Swift signed to Big Machine Records in 2005 starting as

11832-819: The CD single to country radio stations. She spent much of 2006 promoting Taylor Swift with a radio tour and television appearances; she opened for Rascal Flatts on select dates during their 2006 tour, as a replacement for Eric Church . Borchetta said that although record industry peers initially disapproved of his signing a 15-year-old singer-songwriter, Swift tapped into a previously unknown market—teenage girls who listen to country music. Following " Tim McGraw ", four more singles were released throughout 2007 and 2008: " Teardrops on My Guitar ", " Our Song ", " Picture to Burn ", and " Should've Said No ". All appeared on Billboard ' s Hot Country Songs , with "Our Song" and "Should've Said No" reaching number one. "Our Song" made Swift

12006-543: The Carlyle Group in her social media posts. The New York Times said: "At a time of public outrage over corporate greed and a heightened awareness of gender-based power dynamics, the 29-year-old Ms. Swift was able to turn a commercial dispute into a cause célèbre." Meera Jagannathan of MarketWatch described the Carlyle Group as a "powerful and politically connected" firm based in Washington, D.C. , whose investments constitute

12180-457: The Disney family's investment firm , Shamrock Holdings , for $ 405 million under the condition that he keeps profiting from the masters. Swift expressed her disapproval again, rejected Shamrock's offer for an equity partnership , and released the re-recorded albums via Republic, to critical and commercial success, breaking multiple sales , streaming , and chart records. The dispute affected

12354-444: The Eras Tour (2023–2024), and its accompanying concert film are respectively the highest-grossing tour and concert film of all time. Her fans are known as Swifties . Swift is one of the world's best-selling music artists , with over 200 million units sold and a record seven albums that moved one million copies first-week . She is the highest-grossing female touring act , the first billionaire with music as primary income, and

12528-578: The Imperial Arena on 19 June 2010, as part of her Fearless Tour . NC State head coach Kevin Keatts compared the arena and its 3,500-seat capacity to playing in a smaller Division I venue where fans are packed into a more intimate environment. Keatts stated, "It's packed and it's fun and can get going in there, it's an exciting place to play." Baylor head coach and NCAA champion Scott Drew said, "When they walked in, they saw it (Imperial Arena), they saw

12702-460: The NDA. She also claimed that Braun mandated Shamrock not to notify her about the sale until it is complete, and that she further declined an offer by Shamrock to become an equity partner , on the grounds that Braun and Ithaca Holdings would continue to financially benefit from her work. Swift upheld her original decision and began the re-recording process in November 2020. In response, Shamrock released

12876-548: The US Billboard 200 , on which it spent 157 weeks—the longest stay on the chart by any release in the US in the 2000s decade. Swift became the first female country music artist to write or co-write every track on a platinum-certified debut album. Big Machine Records was still in its infancy during the June 2006 release of the lead single , " Tim McGraw ", which Swift and her mother helped promote by packaging and sending copies of

13050-417: The US, 1989 (Taylor's Version) became Swift's record-extending sixth album to sell one million copies in a single week, and surpassed Midnights , her tenth studio album, for the highest first-week vinyl sales of the 21st century. 1989 (Taylor's Version) debuted atop the Billboard 200 with over 1.6 million units, surpassing the original 1989 's first-week figures by 400,000 units, and marked

13224-495: The US, Midnights was her fifth to open atop the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of over one million copies, and its tracks, led by the single " Anti-Hero ", made Swift the first artist to monopolize the top 10 of the Hot 100. Globally, the album broke the record for the most single-day streams and most single-week streams on Spotify and peaked atop the charts of at least 14 countries. The album's two further singles, " Lavender Haze " and " Karma ", both peaked at number two on

13398-508: The US. Its singles " ...Ready for It? ", " End Game ", and " Delicate " were released to pop radio. Reputation was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album. Swift featured on the country duo Sugarland 's " Babe " (2018). At the 2018 American Music Awards , Swift won four awards, which made her accumulate 23 trophies in total and become the AMAs' most awarded female musician, surpassing Whitney Houston . The same year, she embarked on her Reputation Stadium Tour , which became

13572-458: The Warren Brothers and formed a lasting working relationship with Liz Rose . They began meeting for two-hour writing sessions every Tuesday afternoon after school. Rose called the sessions "some of the easiest I've ever done. Basically, I was just her editor. She'd write about what happened in school that day. She had such a clear vision of what she was trying to say. And she'd come in with

13746-475: The Year and Favorite Country Album. Billboard named her the 2009 Artist of the Year . She won Video of the Year and Female Video of the Year for "Love Story" at the 2009 CMT Music Awards , where she made a parody video of the song with rapper T-Pain called "Thug Story". At the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards , Fearless was named Album of the Year and Best Country Album , and "White Horse" won Best Country Song and Best Female Country Vocal Performance . At

13920-713: The Year by the Academy of Country Music (2011 and 2012) and the Country Music Association in 2011. At the American Music Awards of 2011 , Swift won Artist of the Year and Favorite Country Album. Rolling Stone named Speak Now on its list of "50 Best Female Albums of All Time" (2012). Red , Swift's fourth studio album, was released in October 2012. On Red , Swift worked with Chapman and new producers including Max Martin , Shellback , Dan Wilson , Jeff Bhasker , Dann Huff , and Butch Walker , resulting in

14094-456: The Year for Midnights . Swift became the first artist to win Album of the Year four times in Grammy history. Swift's next two re-recorded albums, Speak Now (Taylor's Version) and 1989 (Taylor's Version) , were released in July and October   2023. The former made Swift the woman with the most number-one albums (12) in Billboard 200 history, surpassing Barbra Streisand , and the latter

14268-401: The Year for "You Need to Calm Down", becoming the first female and second artist overall to win the category for a self-directed video. While promoting Lover in 2019, Swift became embroiled in a public dispute with the talent manager Scooter Braun after he purchased Big Machine Records, including the masters of her albums that the label had released. Swift said she had been trying to buy

14442-415: The ability to stand up for herself, and in doing so, invoke meaningful dialogue and inspire change within the notoriously slow-moving music industry   ... Re-recording a back catalogue of six full albums and respective secret bonus tracks, then developing a hugely successful campaign to drive loyal fans towards the new versions of their beloved albums—and away from the original master recordings, prompting

14616-480: The acquisition as trailblazing: while the issue of master ownership and the conflicts between record labels and artists such as Prince , the Beatles , Janet Jackson , and Def Leppard have been prevalent, Swift was one of the few to make it public. Rolling Stone journalists described the dispute as one of the 50 "most important moments" of the 2010s. Dominic Rushe of The Guardian said Swift's situation hinted at

14790-457: The acquisition on Tumblr the same day. She stated that she had tried to buy her masters for years, but was not given a chance unless she signed another contract that would require her to create six more albums under the label in exchange for the masters of the first six, which she felt was "unacceptable". While she knew that Big Machine was for sale, she said she was unaware that Braun—whom she described as an "incessant, manipulative bully"—would be

14964-524: The acquisition, the ownership of all of the masters and copyrights owned by Big Machine, including those of Swift's first six studio albums, transferred to Braun. Borchetta joined the Ithaca board of directors , acquiring a minority interest in Ithaca, and remained as the president and CEO of Big Machine. For years I asked, pleaded for a chance to own my work. Instead I was given an opportunity to sign back up to Big Machine Records and 'earn' one album back at

15138-519: The album opened atop the Billboard 200 with 1.28 million copies sold. Its singles " Shake It Off ", " Blank Space ", and " Bad Blood " reached number one in Australia, Canada, and the US, with the first two making Swift the first woman to replace herself at the Hot 100 top spot . Other singles include " Style ", " Wildest Dreams ", " Out of the Woods ", and " New Romantics ". The 1989 World Tour (2015)

15312-489: The album's 13th anniversary, which was met with immediate backlash from Swift's supporters. Swift's solution to her situation was to create new recordings of all of the musical work in the six albums, using the publishing rights she retained, and to have the finished product sound as close to the original as possible. She announced in August 2019, on a special episode of CBS News Sunday Morning with American journalist Tracy Smith , that she would " re-record " and release

15486-538: The authors William Shakespeare , Nathaniel Hawthorne , F. Scott Fitzgerald , and the poets William Wordsworth , Robert Frost , and Emily Dickinson ; the last of whom was a distant cousin of Swift. In The New Yorker in 2011, Swift said she identifies as a songwriter first: "I write songs, and my voice is just a way to get those lyrics across". Her personal experiences were a common inspiration for her early songs, which helped her navigate life. Her "diaristic" technique began with identifying an emotion, followed by

15660-510: The biggest powerhouse pop stars of an entire generation—can't get her own masters back, who could? Turns out, almost nobody." According to Tonya Butler, professor and chair of the Music Business Management Department at Berklee College of Music , "regardless of the reasons why [Swift is] re-recording, whether it's spite or good business, the fact she is bringing to attention the re-recording restriction agreement alone makes

15834-543: The buyer: "Essentially, my musical legacy is about to lie in the hands of someone who tried to dismantle it". She highlighted Braun's involvement in the creation of West's music video for his 2016 single " Famous ", which she described as "a revenge porn music video which strips [her] body naked". Swift also claimed that Braun influenced Kim Kardashian , then-married to West, to orchestrate an "illegally recorded" snippet of Swift's phone call with West, and had "two of [Braun's] clients" collude to bully Swift online, referring to

16008-430: The buyers that Swift's posts about the dispute would only generate more publicity, boosting streams and downloads of the albums. Financial Times also alleged that the deal between Braun and Shamrock included "a post-purchase earnout to Braun and Carlyle Group, if sales and streams hit specific targets". On December 10, 2021, The New York Times published that the Carlyle Group contacted Braun and encouraged him to reach

16182-496: The chart. In 2009, Swift toured as an opening act for Keith Urban and embarked on her first headlining tour, the Fearless Tour . "You Belong with Me" won Best Female Video at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards . Her acceptance speech was interrupted by the rapper Kanye West , an incident that became the subject of controversy and widespread media coverage. That year, Swift won five American Music Awards, including Artist of

16356-849: The clarity and tone of Swift's live vocals accentuate her lyrics. Swift's fascination with songwriting began in her childhood. She credited her mother with igniting confidence and early songwriting interests by helping her prepare for class presentations. She enjoyed Disney film soundtracks and would make up lyrics once she had run out of words singing them. Her lyrical influences include female country songwriters such as Patsy Cline , Loretta Lynn , Tammy Wynette , and Dolly Parton ; 1990s songwriters such as Melissa Etheridge , Sarah McLachlan , and Alanis Morissette ; Joni Mitchell ; and Fall Out Boy . She listed Paul McCartney , Bruce Springsteen , Emmylou Harris , and Kris Kristofferson as career role models, citing their both evolving and consistent songwriting outputs. Her literary influences include

16530-526: The condition that she took ownership of her audiovisual works. Borchetta agreed, but asked for a ten-year contract. The authenticity of the message has not been verified. On November 14, 2019, Swift accused Braun and Borchetta of preventing her from performing her older songs at the American Music Awards of 2019 and using older material for her 2020 documentary Miss Americana . She said they were "exercising tyrannical control" over her music, and claimed Borchetta told her team that she would be allowed to use

16704-423: The contract but can effect change in the music industry and benefit all artists. The Hollywood Reporter consulted music lawyers Howard King and Derek Crownover regarding the controversy; King said Swift would not sue Braun or the label because of the "personal" nature of the dispute—her predicament being not the sale itself but that Braun is the buyer—having no legal recourse. In agreement, Crownover said: "from

16878-576: The controversy shows how "the bundle of related copyrights that exist in a piece of music can give rise to complex disputes" and upheld Swift's move to re-record as a "relatively novel solution", in regards to the copyright legislations in Ireland. At the 2019 Billboard Women in Music event, Swift was conferred the inaugural Woman of the Decade award for the 2010s. In her acceptance speech, Swift addressed Braun for

17052-870: The controversy, acts "lined up for Team Swift or Team Braun, creating the most public battle about an artists' masters in recent memory". Swift's response and social media posts sparked support from many of her contemporaries. Musicians who openly supported her include Dionne Warwick , Anne Murray , Cher , Selena Gomez, Halsey , Iggy Azalea , Sara Bareilles , Lily Allen , Tinashe , Ella Eyre , Hayley Kiyoko , Camila Cabello , Jordan Pruitt , Brendon Urie , Kelsea Ballerini , JoJo , Azealia Banks , The Regrettes , Echosmith , Antonoff, Haim , Alessia Cara , Allie X , Hrvy , Gretchen Peters , Iza , Katy Perry , and Anita Baker , who agreed with Swift that artists should rightfully own their music. American musician Sky Ferreira supported Swift and told about her own battle over her masters: "the entertainment industry

17226-431: The copyright license herself. Kate Dwyer of Marie Claire said the re-recorded albums free Swift from the sexist tabloid scrutiny of her private life that overshadowed her past works, by re-introducing listeners and critics to the same songs but without "as much gender bias", and that the audiences who "didn't believe she was a feminist before (for whatever, sexist reason) can't deny the feminist undertones of becoming

17400-498: The copyright to the song or musical composition itself, and the copyright to the specific recording of that song, which is usually contained on a master . The master is the first recording of the music, from which copies are made for sales and distribution. The owner of the master, therefore, owns the copyright to all formats of the recording, such as digital versions for download or streaming , or physical versions such as CDs and vinyl LPs . A party who wishes to use or reproduce

17574-515: The country music scene, her father transferred to Merrill Lynch's Nashville office when she was 14 years old, and the family relocated to Hendersonville, Tennessee . Swift attended Hendersonville High School before transferring to Aaron Academy after two years, which better accommodated her touring schedule through homeschooling. She graduated one year early. In Nashville, Swift worked with experienced Music Row songwriters such as Troy Verges , Brett Beavers , Brett James , Mac McAnally , and

17748-521: The ensuing media scrutiny inspired the hip-hop -imbued Reputation (2017). The albums contained the Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles " We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together ", " Shake It Off ", " Blank Space ", " Bad Blood " and " Look What You Made Me Do ". Shifting to Republic Records in 2018, Swift released the electropop album Lover (2019) and the autobiographical documentary Miss Americana (2020), explored indie folk styles in

17922-506: The entertainment industry. In November 2018, Swift signed a record deal with Republic Records after her Big Machine contract expired. Mainstream media reported in June 2019 that Braun purchased Big Machine from Borchetta for $ 330 million, funded by various private equity firms . Braun had become the owner of all of the masters, music videos, and artworks copyrighted by Big Machine, including those of Swift's first six studio albums. In response, Swift stated she had tried to purchase

18096-538: The entertainment industry. Various musicians, journalists, politicians, and scholars supported Swift's stance, prompting a discourse on artists' rights, intellectual property , private equity , and industrial ethics . iHeartRadio , the largest radio network in the United States, replaced the older versions in its airplay with Swift's re-recorded tracks. Billboard named Swift the Greatest Pop Star of 2021 for

18270-479: The fastest-selling digital album by a female artist. Speak Now was supported by six singles: " Mine ", " Back to December ", " Mean ", " The Story of Us ", " Sparks Fly ", and " Ours ". "Mine" peaked at number three and was the highest-charting single on the Billboard Hot 100, the first three singles reached the top 10 in Canada, and the last two reached number one on Hot Country Songs. Swift promoted Speak Now with

18444-571: The fifth and sixth consecutive years. At the 2014 Country Music Association Awards , Swift was honored with the Pinnacle Award, making her the second recipient in history after Garth Brooks . The Red Tour ran from March 2013 to June 2014 and became the highest-grossing country tour upon completion. Swift continued writing songs for films and featuring on other artists' releases. On the soundtrack album to The Hunger Games (2012), Swift wrote and recorded "Eyes Open" and " Safe & Sound ";

18618-491: The first artist to debut a US number-one album and a number-one song in the same week; she achieved the feat again with Evermore and "Willow". According to Billboard , Swift was the highest-paid musician in the US and highest-paid solo musician worldwide of 2020. Folklore made Swift the first woman to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year three times, winning the category at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards (2021). At

18792-563: The first artist to monopolize the top 14 of the Billboard Hot 100 and the top 10 of Australia's ARIA Singles Chart ; and went on to spend 15 weeks atop the Billboard 200—Swift's longest-running number-one album on the chart. The lead single, " Fortnight ," featuring Post Malone , became Swift's 12th number one song on the Hot 100. After the pandemic, Swift's music releases, touring, and related activities culminated in an unprecedented height of popularity. From 2023 onward, Swift found ubiquitous success, albeit more dominant than before, with

18966-402: The first time publicly, criticizing his " toxic male privilege " and the "unregulated world of private equity coming in and buying [artists'] music as if it's real estate—as if it's an app or a shoe line." She claimed that none of the investors "bothered to contact me or my team directly—to perform their due diligence on their investment; on their investment in me. To ask how I might feel about

19140-430: The first two singles peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, and the lattermost single became a resurgent success in 2023, reaching number one. Lover was 2019's best selling album in the US and best selling album by a solo artist worldwide. The album and its singles earned three nominations at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards in 2020. At the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards , Swift won three awards including Video of

19314-488: The first woman to score 12 Billboard 200 number-one albums, and the fastest woman to collect 10 number-one albums in the UK, surpassing Madonna . 1989 (Taylor's Version) was released on October 27, 2023. Globally, it garnered the highest single-day streams for an album in 2023 on Spotify, and its tracks occupied the top six of the Billboard Global 200 concurrently, making Swift the first artist to do so . In

19488-443: The highest-grossing North American concert tour in history and grossed $ 345.7 million worldwide. In November 2018, Swift signed a new deal with Universal Music Group , which promoted her subsequent albums under Republic Records ' imprint. The contract included a provision for Swift to maintain ownership of her masters . In addition, in the event that Universal sold any part of its stake in Spotify, it agreed to distribute

19662-425: The impact of her fame and musically incorporated electropop with urban styles of hip hop and R&B . Released in November 2017, Reputation opened atop the Billboard 200 with 1.21 million US sales and topped the charts in the UK, Australia, and Canada. The album's lead single, " Look What You Made Me Do ", was Swift's first UK number-one single and topped charts in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and

19836-576: The indie styles a mature representation of Swift's artistry as a singer-songwriter. Midnights and The Tortured Poets Department both incorporate a minimalist , subdued synth-pop sound, making use of analog synthesizers , sustained bass notes , and simple drum machine patterns. With continuous musical reinventions, Swift was described by Time and the BBC as a musical "chameleon". Jody Rosen commented that by originating her career in Nashville, Swift made

20010-455: The industry spokesperson for artists' rights." Various lawyers and law firms have published their analyses of the controversy. The majority highlighted the lack of legal grounds and that a lawsuit is not viable. Susan H. Hilderley, music attorney at the UCLA School of Law , told The Washington Post that Swift not owning her masters is "nothing out of the ordinary". Hilderley noted Swift

20184-498: The internet. Swift's re-recordings were one of the most widely discussed and covered news topics of 2020–2021, and were described by media outlets as one of 2021's most prominent pop-culture events. Evening Standard called it "music's biggest feud", because "back catalogues regularly change hands behind the scenes, but almost never make headlines". Hashtags "#IStandWithTaylor" and "#WeStandWithTaylor" trended worldwide on Twitter following Swift's post. Billboard wrote, since

20358-403: The label blocked her from performing her songs at the 2019 American Music Awards and using them in her documentary Miss Americana (2020), while Big Machine released Live from Clear Channel Stripped 2008 (2020), an unreleased work by Swift, without her approval. Swift announced she would re-record the six albums and own the new masters herself. In October 2020, Braun sold the old masters to

20532-502: The label, and claimed the label is attempting to deflect from "the $ 7.9 million of unpaid royalties" that the label owes to Swift "over several years", as assessed by "an independent, professional auditor". Swift performed six songs at the 2019 AMAs on November 24, 2019, four of which were from her first six albums, and received the Artist of the Decade award. In April 2020, Big Machine released Live from Clear Channel Stripped 2008 ,

20706-439: The largest album sales week of Swift's career and the 2020s decade. The vault tracks " Is It Over Now? ", " Now That We Don't Talk ", and " 'Slut! ' " occupied the top three spots of the Hot 100 in that order. On November 16, 2020, Variety journalist Shirley Halperin reported, "some insiders speculate the value [of Swift's masters] could be as high as $ 450 million once certain earn-backs are factored in". According to

20880-481: The latter of which was co-written with the Civil Wars and T-Bone Burnett . "Safe & Sound" won the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media . She wrote and produced " Sweeter than Fiction " with Jack Antonoff for the soundtrack to One Chance (2013). Swift featured on B.o.B 's " Both of Us " (2012) and provided vocals for Tim McGraw's " Highway Don't Care " (2013), also featuring Keith Urban. She

21054-426: The lighting, they saw what quality of floor it was, they were really excited to play here. You know what, sometimes when you do things different, it's really neat and something they'll always remember." This basketball-related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a hotel or resort is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about sports in

21228-509: The lives of retail workers across the country, scrapping 1+ million jobs. Now they're holding [Swift's] own music hostage. They need to be reined in." American businessman Glenn Youngkin was the former co-CEO of the Carlyle Group, the major sponsor in Braun's purchase of Big Machine and Swift's masters. Youngkin contested in the 2021 Virginia gubernatorial election as the Republican candidate for

21402-421: The masters but Big Machine had offered unfavorable conditions, and she knew the label would sell them to someone else but did not expect Braun as the buyer, alleging him to be an "incessant, manipulative bully". Borchetta claimed that Swift declined an opportunity to purchase the masters. Consequently, Big Machine and Swift were embroiled in a series of disagreements leading to further friction; Swift alleged that

21576-448: The masters is his poor handling of the relationship between Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez , the latter being one of Swift's closest friends and vice versa. Silman also stated that Braun controlled news stories of several media outlets and blogs. American rapper Lil Twist told Silman that Braun used tabloid websites such as TMZ and Page Six to plant negative stories about the rapper. Silman claimed that Braun refused to speak on

21750-418: The masters, Swift retained the publishing rights to the albums due to her role as the main songwriter of all of the songs she had released under the label. This would allow her to re-record the songs in the future if she desired, as per the artist-label agreement that limits the artist from re-recording a song for a fixed period of time; Swift would not have been able to re-record her musical work had she not been

21924-459: The masters, associated videos and artworks to Shamrock Holdings , an American private equity firm owned by the Disney estate, for a reported $ 405 million. Swift stated that she attempted to negotiate with Braun, but that he offered her a chance to buy the masters back only if she signed an "ironclad" NDA that only allowed her to speak positively about Braun during the process; she refused to sign

22098-460: The masters, but Big Machine would only allow her to do so if she exchanged one new album for each older one under a new contract, which she refused to sign. In November 2020, Swift began re-recording her back catalog, which enabled her to own the new masters and the licensing of her songs for commercial use , substituting for the Big Machine-owned masters. In February 2020, Swift signed

22272-462: The masters. Swift began releasing her re-recorded music in 2021. The re-recorded albums and songs are identified by the note "(Taylor's Version)" added to all of their titles, to distinguish them from the older recordings. In February 2021, Swift announced that she had finished re-recording Fearless and released " Love Story (Taylor's Version) ", a re-recording of the album's lead single " Love Story ", on February 12. Fearless (Taylor's Version)

22446-487: The messages of her songs with her audience —a style that has been described as conversational. According to Powers, Swift's defining vocal feature was her attention to detail to convey an exact feeling—"the line that slides down like a contented sigh or up like a raised eyebrow". On Red and 1989 , Swift's vocals are electronically processed to accompany the pop production. Her voice on Reputation and Midnights incorporates hip-hop and R&B influences that result in

22620-488: The most incredible hooks." Swift became the youngest artist signed by Sony/ATV Tree Music Publishing , but left then BMG-owned RCA Records (later bought by Sony Music ) at the age of 14 due to the label's lack of care and them "cut[ting] other people's stuff". She was also concerned that development deals can shelve artists and recalled: "I genuinely felt that I was running out of time. I wanted to capture these years of my life on an album while they still represented what I

22794-488: The move "ultimate middle finger to the bureaucracy of the music industry", while revealing how "even someone of Swift's star power cannot hold on to the rights to her recorded work." With the success of Red (Taylor's Version) , Hannah Towey of Business Insider said "the Taylor's Version era is already sending shockwaves throughout the industry." Unlike most artists when faced with this kind of injustice, Swift actually had

22968-435: The music only if she agreed to not re-record "copycat versions" of her songs; Swift commented: "The message being sent to me is very clear. Basically, be a good little girl and shut up. Or you'll be punished." In response, Big Machine rejected Swift's claim: "We have worked diligently to have a conversation about these matters with Taylor and her team to productively move forward. However, despite our persistent efforts to find

23142-469: The new owner of my art, the music I wrote, the videos I created, photos of me, my handwriting, my album designs ." In December 2021, Billboard recognized Swift as "The Greatest Pop Star of 2021", saying she "rewrote industry rules and had one of the most impactful years of her storied pop career without even releasing an entirely new album." The magazine stated that the "unequivocal success" of Fearless (Taylor's Version) and Red (Taylor's Version) prove

23316-586: The new versions just to prove a point." Various other singers unfollowed Braun on their social media accounts. Beside musicians, celebrities like Cara Delevingne , Heidi Montag , Sara Sampaio , Martha Hunt , Gigi Hadid , Antoni Porowski , Bobby Berk , Ruby Rose , Jameela Jamil , Joseph Kahn , Mike Birbiglia , and Mamrie Hart also supported Swift via social media posts. A few musicians supported Braun, including Australian singer-songwriter Sia , American singer Ty Dolla Sign , and Braun's clients Bieber and Lovato. Lovato and Sia said they believe Braun

23490-555: The office of the Governor of Virginia . On October 6, 2021, ahead of the election, former governor and Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe launched a series of negative advertisements on Facebook , Instagram, and Google Search , tying Youngkin to the purchase. The ad included the slogan "#WeStandWithTaylor", a hashtag used by Swifties during the fallout of the dispute, and asked her supporters to vote for McAuliffe. Youngkin's spokesperson, Christian Martinez, stated "McAuliffe has reached

23664-441: The ownership of the masters to Swift's first six albums in exchange for a cash advance. From 2006 to 2017, Swift released six studio albums with Big Machine: Taylor Swift (2006), Fearless (2008), Speak Now (2010), Red (2012), 1989 (2014), and Reputation (2017), all of which were commercially lucrative and established Swift as one of the most successful music artists in history . Although Big Machine owned

23838-404: The platform, which prompted Apple Inc. to announce that it would pay artists during the free trial period. Swift then agreed to keep 1989 and her catalog on Apple Music. Big Machine Records returned Swift's catalog to Spotify among other free streaming platforms in June 2017. Swift was named Billboard ' s Woman of the Year in 2014, becoming the first artist to win the award twice. At

24012-443: The positive reception, The New Yorker stated she was generally portrayed "more as a skilled technician than as a Dylanesque visionary". Tabloid media often speculated and linked the subjects of her songs with her ex-lovers, a practice reviewers and Swift herself criticized as sexist. Aside from clues in album liner notes , Swift avoided talking about the subjects of her songs. Taylor%27s Version On June 30, 2019,

24186-487: The re-recordings have been "a dazzling victory lap", disproving industry observers who had doubted Swift. Elle 's Fawzia Khan and The New Yorker 's Carrie Battan hailed the "(Taylor's Version)" tag attached to the re-recorded music as genius re-branding of Swift's back catalog. Charlotte Richards, writing for Money Marketing , said the situation helps understand "dangerous investing", such as Braun's. The New Zealand Herald reporter Lydia Burgham dubbed

24360-483: The record , and that many others were afraid to go on record due to Braun's "rep for litigiousness". Additionally, she stated that Braun's lawyer, Marty Singer, threatened Business Insider several times over the investigation, claiming Silman is biased and has "deep ties to the Taylor Swift camp". In April 2021, Braun merged Ithaca with South Korean entertainment company Hybe Corporation , which purchased Ithaca for

24534-437: The reliability of her success", and that when she makes a statement, it is "financially lucrative for the industry to listen". The Evening Standard 's Katie Rosseinsky wrote: "It is not just another celebrity feud, this could have wide-reaching repercussions for the music industry." The New York Times , The A.V. Club and MarketWatch felt Swift's criticism targeted private equity firms, highlighting her mention of

24708-444: The satellite view, I don't see any legal ramifications that could come of this, unless there were restrictions on the sale of the masters to third parties." James Jeffries-Chung of Norton Rose Fulbright asserted Shamrock cannot prevent Swift from re-recording her music by any legal measure since she is the publisher of her songs and that all they can hope is "listeners may be less interested in hearing modern takes of songs they enjoyed

24882-484: The second artist after Dolly Parton to have both the original and re-recorded versions of a song reach number one on Hot Country Songs. Red (Taylor's Version) was supported by " All Too Well (10 Minute Version) ", which became the longest song in history to top the Hot 100. Swift's tenth studio album, Midnights , was released in October 2022. The album incorporates a restrained electropop and synth-pop sound with elements of hip hop, R&B, and electronica . In

25056-435: The six albums to own the complete rights herself, as soon as her Big Machine contract allowed her to. By re-recording, Swift is technically covering her own songs as new recordings, resulting in new masters she fully owns, enabling her to control the licensing of her songs for commercial use, known as synchronization , by evading the owners of the older masters and subsequently devaluing them. In October 2020, Braun sold

25230-631: The song amicably over the phone. The controversy made Swift a subject of an online " cancel " movement. In late 2016, after briefly dating Tom Hiddleston , Swift began a six-year relationship with Joe Alwyn and retreated herself from the public spotlight. In August 2017, Swift successfully countersued David Mueller, a former radio jockey for KYGO-FM , who sued her for damages from loss of employment. Four years earlier, she informed Mueller's bosses that he had sexually assaulted her by groping her at an event. The public controversies influenced Swift's sixth studio album, Reputation , which explored

25404-450: The song on the streaming platform. On September 17, Swift teased the re-recorded song's bridge as part of the said trend with a snippet on TikTok, captioning "if you guys want to use my version of wildest dreams for the slow zoom trend, here she is!". " Wildest Dreams (Taylor's Version) " was subsequently released to streaming platforms. Swift stated that she saw "Wildest Dreams" trending on TikTok and thought fans should have "[her] version" of

25578-440: The song. In its first four hours of availability, "Wildest Dreams (Taylor's Version)" amassed 2,003,391 Spotify streams, breaking the record the older "Wildest Dreams" had set a few days prior. On November 12, 2021, Swift released Red (Taylor's Version) , the re-recorded issue of Red , consisting of all 30 songs that were originally meant for the 2012 version. The album broke several sales, streaming, and chart records, and

25752-519: The soundtrack to Fifty Shades Darker (2017) and won a Country Music Association Award for Song of the Year with " Better Man ", which she wrote for the band Little Big Town . In April 2016, Kanye West released the single " Famous ", in which he references Swift in the line, "I made that bitch famous." Swift criticized West and said she never consented to the lyric, but West claimed that he had received her approval and his then-wife Kim Kardashian released video clips of Swift and West discussing

25926-450: The stage of desperation in his campaign where he's rolling out the most baseless attacks to see what sticks". Additionally, NPR highlighted a July 2021 report by Associated Press that claimed McAuliffe himself had invested a minimum of $ 690,000 in Carlyle between 2007 and 2016. McAuliffe's spokesperson, Renzo Olivari, confirmed that McAuliffe was a "passive" Carlyle investor who by 2019, at

26100-654: The successes of the re-recordings, the Eras Tour, its concert film, Midnights, and The Tortured Poets Department , significantly increasing her net worth; Music Business Worldwide remarked this as a "new stratosphere of global career success" for Swift. In 2023, she began dating the American football player Travis Kelce , and in 2024, won Artist of the Year at the 2024 iHeartRadio Music Awards . The same year, AI-generated fake pornographic images portraying Swift were posted to Twitter and spread to other social media platforms, spurring criticism and demands for legal reform. In July, Swift and Kelce received death threats from

26274-407: The successful and unprecedented outcomes of her re-recording venture. A two-part documentary about the dispute, Taylor Swift vs Scooter Braun: Bad Blood , was released in 2024. Publications have said Swift's response and move to re-record has encouraged new artists to negotiate for greater ownership of their music. Under U.S. copyright law , a music release is subject to two separate copyrights :

26448-409: The time of the sale of the masters, owned less than $ 5,000 in Carlyle stock . Jared Polis , the 43rd Governor of Colorado , mentioned Swift's re-recording venture as a highlight of 2021 in his annual gubernatorial address to the state on January 14, 2022, and sang the chorus of " 22 (Taylor's Version) " in reference to the new year of 2022. Publications highlighted Swift's public opposition to

26622-489: The top five on charts worldwide. Other singles from Red were " Begin Again ", " 22 ", " Everything Has Changed ", " The Last Time ", and " Red ". Red and its single "Begin Again" received three nominations at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards (2014). Swift received American Music Awards for Best Female Country Artist in 2012 , Artist of the Year in 2013 , and the Nashville Songwriters Association's Songwriter/Artist Award for

26796-430: The tour's cultural and economic impact , and its US leg broke the record for the most tickets sold in a day . Ticketmaster received public and political criticisms for mishandling the tour's ticket sales. The Eras Tour became the highest-grossing tour in history . Its concert film , released to theaters worldwide on October 13, 2023, grossed over $ 250 million to become the highest-grossing concert film and

26970-544: The very first time we met in 2010. Since then I have watched him build an incredible and diverse company that is a perfect complement to the Big Machine Label Group. Our artist-first spirit and combined roster of talent, executives, and assets is now a global force to be reckoned with. This is a very special day and the beginning of what is sure to be a fantastic partnership and historic run. – Scott Borchetta on selling Big Machine to Scooter Braun Scooter Braun

27144-421: The way the Big Machine acquisition was handled, admitted he came from a "place of arrogance" when he assumed that he and Swift "could work things out", and that he learned "an important lesson". Braun also stated that he was forced to make the purchase under a "very strict NDA" and hence was not allowed to talk to anybody about it. The controversy was highly publicized, drawing reactions and critiques from across

27318-477: The whole controversy valuable." McBrayer's Peter J. Rosene stated that each "Taylor's Version" album lowers the value of the master of its respective original held by Shamrock and predicted that the sales of the re-recordings "might, in fact, outperform the original albums." Justin Tilghman of the University of Georgia School of Law opined that the clause that prohibits an artist from re-recording their own songs for

27492-440: The widespread acceptance of the recordings, which replaced the older versions as "the ones listeners will be digesting and caring about moving forward." The Recording Academy said the "Taylor's Versions" are a music trend that defined 2021. Swift and her re-recording venture were featured in a video montage by Vox summarizing major world events of the year. Rolling Stone listed Braun's purchase of Swift's masters as one of

27666-564: The youngest person to single-handedly write and sing a Hot Country Songs number-one single, and "Teardrops on My Guitar" was Swift's breakthrough single on mainstream radio and charts. Swift released two EPs, The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection in October 2007 and Beautiful Eyes in July 2008. She promoted her debut album extensively as the opening act for other country musicians' tours in 2006 and 2007, including those by George Strait , Brad Paisley , and Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. Swift won multiple accolades for Taylor Swift . She

27840-520: Was a stockbroker for Merrill Lynch , and her mother, Andrea Gardner Swift ( née  Finlay ), worked as a mutual fund marketing executive. Swift's younger brother, Austin , is an actor. Their maternal grandmother, Marjorie Finlay ( née  Moehlenkamp ), was an opera singer, whose singing in church became one of Swift's earliest memories of music that shaped her career. Swift is of Scottish, English, and German descent, with distant Italian and Irish ancestry. Swift spent her early years on

28014-750: Was a voice actress in The Lorax (2012), made a cameo in the sitcom New Girl (2013), and had a supporting role in the dystopian film The Giver (2014). From 2010 to 2013, Swift was romantically involved with the actor Jake Gyllenhaal , the political heir Conor Kennedy , and the singer Harry Styles . In March 2014, Swift began living in New York City, which she credited as a creative influence on her fifth studio album, 1989 . She described 1989 as her first "official pop album" and produced it with Jack Antonoff, Max Martin, Shellback, Imogen Heap , Ryan Tedder , and Ali Payami . Released in October 2014,

28188-475: Was an unknown artist when she signed her record deal and that signing off the masters to the record label is the "kind of terms" usually followed in artist-label agreements. In a similar vein, Erin M. Jacobson , a music attorney specializing in artist-label negotiations, said on CBC News that "the structure of a label owning the master has been in place for such a long time that a lot of people are just used to that". She affirmed that Swift has no legal recourse on

28362-407: Was financed by American private equity companies such as the Carlyle Group , 23 Capital, and Soros Fund Management , all of which owned a stake in Ithaca. In a joint announcement, the companies claimed that the buyout "creates one of the most powerful label, management, streaming, publishing and media companies by combining complimentary services, artists, executives and expertise". As part of

28536-696: Was going through." At an industry showcase at Nashville's Bluebird Cafe in 2005, Swift caught the attention of Scott Borchetta , a DreamWorks Records executive who was preparing to form an independent record label, Big Machine Records . She had first met Borchetta in 2004. She was one of Big Machine's first signings, and her father purchased a three-percent stake in the company for an estimated $ 120,000. She began working on her eponymous debut album with Nathan Chapman . Swift wrote or co-wrote all album tracks, and co-writers included Rose, Robert Ellis Orrall , Brian Maher, and Angelo Petraglia . Released in October 2006, Taylor Swift peaked at number five on

28710-454: Was held on June 28, when Scott Swift was represented by a lawyer from Swift's management company, 13 Management. Borchetta said he texted Swift on June 29, claiming that she was aware of Braun's transaction beforehand. He denied that Braun had been hostile toward Swift, and posted a text message he alleged Swift had sent before signing to Republic Records; in the message, Swift said she would accept another seven-year contract with Big Machine on

28884-537: Was her sixth album to sell one million copies in a single week in the US, claiming her career's largest album sales week. 1989 (Taylor's Version) 's single " Is It Over Now? " peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Swift featured on Big Red Machine 's " Renegade " and "Birch" (2021), Haim 's " Gasoline " (2021), Ed Sheeran 's " The Joker and the Queen " (2022), and the National 's " The Alcott " (2023). For

29058-526: Was met with widespread acclaim, becoming her highest-rated album by critics on Metacritic . Its closing track, " All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor's Version) (From the Vault) ", scored Swift the eighth Billboard Hot 100 number-one song of her career and garnered the Guinness World Record for the longest song ever to top the chart. The song's producer Jack Antonoff told Rolling Stone that

29232-463: Was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Cinematic and Box Office Achievement. Swift's eleventh studio album, The Tortured Poets Department , was released on April 19, 2024. Topping charts globally, the album broke a string of records: it marked the first album ever to amass 1   billion Spotify streams in a week; sold 2.6   million units in its first week in the US; made Swift

29406-566: Was one of the recipients of the Nashville Songwriters Association 's Songwriter/Artist of the Year in 2007, becoming the youngest person given the title. She also won the Country Music Association 's Horizon Award for Best New Artist, the Academy of Country Music Awards ' Top New Female Vocalist, and the American Music Awards ' Favorite Country Female Artist honor. She was also nominated for Best New Artist at

29580-480: Was rejected. In 2004, Swift performed original songs at an RCA Records showcase, and received an artist development deal , following which she moved to Nashville and worked with experienced Music Row songwriters such as Troy Verges , Brett Beavers , Brett James , Mac McAnally , and the Warren Brothers . In 2005, she became the youngest artist (age 15) signed by the Sony/ATV Tree publishing house , but left

29754-403: Was released on April 9 to rave reviews from music critics , who praised Swift's move to re-record her music, viewing it as an act of preservation of artists' rights. On September 15, following a viral TikTok trend involving " Wildest Dreams " (2015) that was gaining traction, the older recording of the song accumulated 735,000 plays on Spotify , marking the highest single-day streams ever for

29928-576: Was the highest-grossing tour of the year with $ 250 million in total revenue. After publishing an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal stressing the importance of albums as a creative medium for artists, in November 2014, Swift removed her catalog from ad-supported, free music streaming platforms such as Spotify . In a June 2015 open letter, Swift criticized Apple Music for not offering royalties to artists during its free three-month trial period and threatened to withdraw her music from

30102-526: Was the bestselling album of 2009 in the US. Its lead single, " Love Story ", was her first number one in Australia and the first country song to top Billboard 's Pop Songs chart, and its third single, " You Belong with Me ", was the first country song to top Billboard 's all-genre Radio Songs chart. Three other singles were released in 2008–2010: " White Horse ", " Fifteen ", and " Fearless ". All five singles were Hot Country Songs top 10 entries, with "Love Story" and "You Belong with Me" topping

30276-518: Was thwarted by Austrian police forces. Swift's early musical influences were 1990s female country musicians such as Shania Twain, Faith Hill, LeAnn Rimes, and the Dixie Chicks, and Keith Urban's country crossover sounds incorporating rock, pop, and blues. She self-identified as a country musician and achieved prominence as a country pop singer with her first four studio albums, from Taylor Swift to Red . The albums feature country signifiers such as banjo, six-string banjo, mandolin , fiddle , and

#94905