After Taylor Swift announced she’d re-record (Taylor Versions) her studio albums after being sold to Shamrock Capital, I didn’t think about her attempting to buy them back this soon. By re-recording albums previously recorded under Big Machine, her former label, she systematically devalued the sold master recordings with every Taylor Version. This strategy was smart because by doing this, her fans would support the new recordings versus the older versions.
Shamrock Capital acquired the recordings for around $300M-$450M from SB Projects after the holding company (SB) purchased Big Machine Label company. Shamrock possibly didn’t anticipate Taylor would make a move to devalue their investment. Swift’s long game worked and she acquired her masters owned by the private equity company for reportedly $360M.
This was a masterful business move from Taylor and it’s great that she has her work, back in house. The question is, will she record another Taylor Version?
