‘You belong with me:’ Taylor Swift buys back the rights to her first six albums

(Gray News) - Taylor Swift now owns the rights to all of her music and work.

“All of the music I’ve ever made ... now belongs... to me,” the pop star said in the letter posted to her official website. “Every single era. My entire life’s work.”

Swift has purchased her entire catalog of recordings from the private equity firm Shamrock Capital.

“To say this is my greatest dream come true is actually being pretty reserved about it,” she said in the letter.

Swift said she has been trying for about 20 years to own the rights to her first six albums, “Taylor Swift,” “Fearless,” “Speak Now,” “Red,” “1989,” and “Reputation,” which were originally released by Big Machine Records.

Swift has been releasing re-recordings of the albums, called “Taylor’s Version,” in an attempt to regain control over the albums after Big Machine Records was bought by Scooter Braun in 2019. Shamrock Capital later purchased them from Braun in late 2020, according to Billboard.

So far, four of the albums have been re-recorded.

“To my fans, you know how important this has been to me - so much so that I meticulously re-recorded and released 4 of my albums, calling them Taylor’s Version,” Swift said.

Along with the rights to the albums and unreleased songs, Swift said she now owns the right to all her music videos, concert films, album art and photography.

Swift also thanked her fans, stating their “ionate ” was the reason she could buy back the rights.

“I can’t thank you enough for helping to reunite me with this art that I have dedicated my life to, but have never owned until now.”

Fans speculated that Swift had news to share, but many believed she was going to announce the release of “Reputation (Taylor’s Version).” Swift commented on the speculations and said that she hasn’t “even re-recorded a quarter of it.”

“The Reputation album was so specific to that time in my life, and I kept hitting a stopping point when I tried to remake it,” she said.

Swift also commented that she has completely re-recorded her debut album, “Taylor Swift,” and that there may be a time for those two albums to “re-emerge.”

“But if it happens, it won’t be from a place of sadness and longing for what I wish I could have,” Swift said. " It will just be a celebration now."

In the midst of releasing the re-recorded “Taylor’s Version” albums, Swift also released a new album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” and dazzled her fans across the globe during the record-breaking Eras Tour.

Copyright 2025 Gray Local Media, Inc. All rights reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.