A while ago, the singer “You belong with me” registered her name as the first artist to own a total of 40 wins at the AMAs. Now, the statement “Taylor Swift is the music industry” could not be more accurate as she not only possesses impressive achievements, but also many times she has made the music industry become… “wobble”.

2014: WITHDRAW MUSIC FROM SPOTIFY, CONVINCE APPLE MUSIC TO CHANGE POLICY

During the golden age of digital music, Taylor Swift took a bold step that only she dared to take. Starting from a letter to protect the creativity of artists, Taylor forced the “big guys” to reconsider the money they spend on artistic creations.

At that time, Apple Music was in the process of preparing for launch. According to the issued policies, in the first 3 months users can try it for free, this means the artists’ efforts through copyright costs are also lost. Because of this, Taylor sent a letter to the leaders, when she previously decided to withdraw all music from Spotify because she thought the platform did not pay artists properly.

Photo: Techcrush

In that letter, Taylor wrote: “I’m not doing this just for myself.” She added that these policies will make new artists and young people desperate due to the “expectation that royalties will help pay off debt”, as well as the process of working “tirelessly to Creativity and dedication” are now cheap when not recognized.

Faced with the female singer’s tough actions, both Spotify and Apple Music immediately adjusted their policies. With Spotify, despite the promises, it took until 3 years later for Taylor’s music to reappear. According to many sources, Spotify had to pay royalties of $21 million to all artists before she agreed to bring the music back.

As for Apple Music, just one day after her letter was posted, the platform also responded and announced a change in policy the next day. After moving to Universal Music Group, she also requested that the contract meet that artists under the same record label must receive fair revenue. It can be said that it is through Taylor Swift’s efforts that the artist’s creative values have been more appreciated and respected.

MIDNIGHTS: TAYLOR SWIFT AND SLEEPLESS NIGHTS

2018: RE-RECORDING, BACK MASTER FOR ALBUM

After her 2017 reputation, Taylor Swift finally parted ways with her former label, Big Machine Records, to sign with Universal Music Group. It’s not simply a “transfer” at the end of the contract, but this is also a story about the ownership of masters or original recordings.

Accordingly, in a typical recording contract, 80% of revenue usually goes to the record label or owner, while only 20% goes to the artist. On the contrary, when an artist owns the master themselves, they will hold almost all of the revenue of this project.

With 6 albums made under her old record label, Taylor was completely deprived of ownership, even though she was the creator, involved in writing music and producing. This happened because Big Machine Records was acquired, and someone else automatically owned all of not only her music but also that of other legends, like Reba McEntire or Sheryl Crow…

Album Fearless (Taylor’s Version)

Album Red (Taylor’s Version)

However, the deal to buy back control of Taylor Swift and the new owner did not reach a consensus. Because of unreasonable requests such as recording a new album in exchange for an old one, Taylor finally boldly chose her own direction, declaring that she would re-record these 6 albums, and create a new “brand” called (Taylor’s Version) for them.

Therefore, in 2021, the first project of the series, Fearless (Taylor’s Version), was released. This new edition also includes previously unpublished songs from the From the Vaults series – compositions that were written but never released, allowing audiences to see clearly the creative style through each period of the female singer.

A year later, Red (Taylor’s Version) was also released, and was also a huge success. In which, All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) won every award in both recording and short film categories. Recently, the song was also nominated for the 2023 Grammys in the Song of the Year category, while the album’s I Bet You Think About Me from From the Vault was also nominated for Best Country Song.

Through re-recording her previous works, Taylor Swift defended herself and showed that  “everyone deserves to own art created by their own hands” as in the letter she sent to Apple Music. After that, great legends like Anita Baker also owned their own masters, paving the way for contracts to be carefully considered before being signed in the near future.