Taylor Swift signs new record deal with Universal Music Group

Taylor Swift is taking a new direction. The musician announced on Monday that she had signed a new record deal with Universal Music Group. The multi-year agreement will make UMG the exclusive worldwide recorded music partner for Swift, with its Republic Records division serving as her U.S. label.

This marks a turning point for Swift, who had previously worked with Big Machine ever since label founder Scott Borchetta first discovered her at age 14. In her Instagram post announcing the news, Swift was thankful to Borchetta, saying, “I want to express my heartfelt thanks to Scott Borchetta for believing in me as a 14-year-old and for guiding me through over a decade of work that I will always be proud of.”

Elsewhere in that Instagram post, Swift revealed the key reasons she took a new deal with UMG. One is that she will now own the master recordings of all the music she makes from now on. The other was a guarantee that all UMG artists, not just her, will reap better profits from the label’s work with Spotify.

“As part of my new contract with Universal Music Group, I asked that any sale of their Spotify shares result in a distribution of money to their artists, non-recoupable. They have generously agreed to this, at what they believe will be much better terms than paid out previously by other major labels. I see this as a sign we are headed toward positive change for creators — a goal I’m never going to stop trying to help achieve, in whatever ways I can.”

Read her full statement on her Instagram page.

Related content:

• The best song from every Taylor Swift album

• Taylor Swift endorses Tennessee Democrats in rare political statement

• Taylor Swift donates $15,500 to fan whose mother is in a coma