Taylor’s version of Reputation this, Taylor’s version of Reputation that. What if, as everyone sits waiting like puppies in the window for what a new version of “Delicate” might sound like, a single business decision could render Taylor Swift’s album-rerecording project redundant in one fell swoop? On May 22, “Page Six” reported that Shamrock Capital, the investment firm to which Scooter Braun sold the masters of Swift’s first six albums, is now interested in selling those back to Swift. That would put her in charge of both the original recordings and the rerecordings she has been working on the past few years.
According to “Page Six,” the cost of Swift’s masters could be anywhere from $600 million to $1 billion — one-third to half of Swift’s net worth. On paper, it seems like something she might want to consider: Having control over her masters and her versions of those albums can only stand to make her money in the long run, even if she shells out a lot right now. It would give this project of wrestling for control of her work a neatish ending, her homespun success triumphing over corporate greed.
Buying back her masters, however, would render the symbolism of the Taylor’s versions null and void. In rewriting the narrative of her originals on her own terms — and rerecording songs at an older age, granting them more depth and perspective — Swift has managed to make her music increasingly valuable. Who’d have thought everyone would be waiting, breath bated, for the rerelease of an album that came out nine years ago to middling reviews? That’s the power of Taylor’s versions. That Braun is reportedly encouraging this deal to go through ought to be enough to raise red flags. It wouldn’t look good for either the rerecording project or Swift’s celebrity image to start working alongside him when so many other stars have walked away. Yes, Swift could stand to make more money down the line in buying back her masters, but she already has all the money she needs. That said, has having a lot of money ever stopped Swift from doing anything before? She loves going out to dinner! What she decides to do is her decision and her decision alone; let’s just not have this delay Reputation (Taylor’s Version) any longer.
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