Here's a Reminder of Why Taylor Swift is Re-Recording Her Music

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Speak Now (Taylor's Version) is officially on the way, and the new version of the fan-favorite album is clad with star-studded guest appearances from Fall Out Boy and Paramore's Hayley Williams on new tracks from Taylor Swift's vault. While Fearless (Taylor's Version) and Red (Taylor's Version) managed to transport millions of fans back to the early aughts during the Grammy-winner's career, you may be wondering: Wait, why did Taylor re-record these albums in the first place? Well, there's a very long story behind the answer to that question. Without further ado, here's a reminder of why we will be getting new versions of Taylor's first six albums.

It all started in June 2019, when music manager Scooter Braun (who works with artists like Justin Bieber, Demi Lovato, and Ariana Grande) acquired Taylor's old recording company, Big Machine Label, and with it, the masters for Taylor's first six albums. Masters are the original recording of songs. So, by owning those, Scooter owned Taylor's music.

Taylor signed with Big Machine at 16 and when Taylor left Big Machine for Republic Records in 2018, she was forced to leave the masters of her first five albums behind. "I was given an opportunity to sign back up to Big Machine Records and 'earn' one album back at a time, one for every new one I turned in," she said about the decision to leave Big Machine in a post on Tumblr. "I walked away because I knew once I signed that contract, [the CEO of Big Machine] Scott Borchetta would sell the label, thereby selling me and my future."

And while Taylor knew Scott was going to sell her masters when she left Big Machine, she said that never in her "worst nightmares" did she "imagine the buyer would be Scooter." In the same Tumblr post, Taylor accused Scooter of "incessant, manipulative bullying," citing her previous feud with Kanye West, who was Scooter's client at the time.

The events caused a lot of drama, with musicians and celebrities allegedly taking sides in the feud. Many of Scooter's artists like Justin and Demi defended him, while others, like Halsey and Katy Perry, took Taylor's side. Scooter spoke out in November 2019 after he said he received many death threats over the situation, saying he "would like to find a resolution" with Taylor and he was open to talking. "It almost feels as if you have no interest in ever resolving the conflict," he wrote in an Instagram post.

In November 2020, Scooter reportedly sold Taylor's masters to an investment fund, Shamrock Holdings, for over $300 million. At first, some suspected that Taylor was behind the deal and bought her masters back, but she later confirmed that wasn't the case.

In a post on Twitter, Taylor revealed that her team "attempted to enter into negotiations with Scooter Braun," but he wanted her to "sign an ironclad NDA" that would keep Taylor from ever saying anything bad about Scooter before even entering negotiations. "He would never even quote my team a price," she said. "These master recordings were not for sale to me."

According to Taylor, the terms of the sale to Shamrock allow Scooter to continue to profit off Taylor's music for "many years." While Taylor was hoping for a partnership with Shamrock moving forward, she said "Scooter's participation is a non-starter for me."

As we know, though, that wasn't the end for Taylor. In August 2019, Taylor went on Good Morning America to reveal that she is re-recording her old albums that got sold. "My contract says that starting November 2020, so next year, I can record albums one through five all over again," she said. "I'm very excited about it...because I just think that artists deserve to own their work, I just feel very passionately about that."

And when November 2020 came along, Taylor was where she promised she would be: back in her studio, re-recording albums. In fact, when she accepted the Artist of the Year award at the 2020 American Music Awards, she did it through a recording session.

"The reason I'm not there tonight is I'm actually re-recording all of my old music in the studio where we originally recorded it," she said. "So it's been amazing and I can't wait for you to hear it. But, have a great night. I love you so much and thank you, thank you, thank you guys."

In April 2021, Taylor officially released Fearless (Taylor's Version), which went No. 1 on Billboard's Hot 200 albums chart during the week of April 24, 2021. She then released Red (Taylor's Version) in November 2021, which graced us with the 10-minute version of "All Too Well" and broke all sorts of streaming records.

Taylor's next re-recorded album is Speak Now (Taylor's Version), which is hitting streaming services on July 7, 2023. Fans — including amicable ex, Taylor Lautner — are already making jokes about another one of Taylor's exes, John Mayer, as "Dear John" is allegedly about the downfall of their 2009 romance.

You can snag copies of Speak Now (Taylor's Version) on vinyl, cd, and cassette tape on pre-order at Walmart.

Speak Now (Taylor s Version) Vinyl

Speak Now (Taylor s Version) - CD

UMRG Taylor Swift - Speak Now (Taylor s Version) - Cassette

Along with Fearless (Taylor's Version), Red (Taylor's Version), and Speak Now (Taylor's Version), Taylor will also be able to re-record Taylor Swift, 1989, and Reputation. So, yeah, get excited — there are many more Taylor's Versions to come.

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