Taylor Swift announced that she's regained control of her song catalog The news comes six years after the music was sold to Scooter Braun A source tells PEOPLE the news comes "in spite of Scooter Braun, not because of him" Taylor Swiftfinallyowns her masters— and it's not because of Scooter Braun. The Grammy-winning star announced on Friday, May 30, that she has regained control of her catalog, nearly six years after it wassold to Braun, whothen sold itto private equity firm Shamrock Capital. A source close to contract negotiations tells PEOPLE that the accomplishment comes on the heels of hard work from Swift's team — and that, despite a recent report claiming Braun encouraged Shamrock to make the deal, the entrepreneur was not involved. "Contrary to a previous false report, there was no outside party who 'encouraged' this sale. All rightful credit for this opportunity should go to the partners at Shamrock Capital and Taylor's Nashville-based management team only," the source says. "Taylor now owns all of her music, and this moment finally happened in spite of Scooter Braun, not because of him." "I've been bursting into tears of joy at random intervals ever since I found out that this is really happening. I really get to say these words: All of the music I've ever made... now belongs... to me. And all my music videos. All the concert films. The album art and photography. The unreleased songs. The memories. The magic. The madness. Every single era," Swift wrote inan emotional statementposted to her website. "My entire life's work." Getty(2) In her announcement, Swift also thanked her fans for their continued support. "Thanks to you and your goodwill, teamwork, and encouragement, the best things that have ever been mine... finally actually are," she wrote. The announcement was a long time coming for the "Fortnight" singer, whose catalog was first sold to Braun's company Ithaca Holdings in June 2019. Through the sale, Braun acquired the masters to Swift's first six albums, which she'd recorded while signed to Big Machine Records. John Shearer/Getty; Jemal Countess/Getty "I learned about Scooter Braun's purchase of my masters as it was announced to the world. All I could think about was the incessant, manipulative bullying I've received at his hands for years," she wrote, in part. "Scooter has stripped me of my life's work, that I wasn't given an opportunity to buy… Essentially, my musical legacy is about to lie in the hands of someone who tried to dismantle it." Braun, 43, later sold the catalog to Shamrock, and Swift said at the time that she'd been "actively trying" to regain ownership of her masters over the last year, but failed to successfully enter negotiations with Braun because she refused to sign an NDA that required her to only speak positively about the entrepreneur. Kevin Mazur/Getty When she and her team received a letter from Shamrock Holdings alerting them that they'd bought 100 percent of her music, videos and album art from Braun, Swift wrote it was "the second time my music had been sold without my knowledge," and noted that under the terms of the deal, Braun would continue to profit off her catalog "for many years." The "Lavender Haze" singer said she'd been "hopeful and open" to possibly partnering with Shamrock but considered Braun's participation a "non-starter." In the same statement, Swift announced she'd be re-recording her first six albums as a means of giving herself ownership of her masters. She kicked things off withFearless (Taylor's Version)in April 2021, and later went on to release new versions ofRed,1989andSpeak Now— all of which quickly soared to the top of theBillboard200 albums chart. In the same time period, she also put out several albums of new material, includingMidnightsandThe Tortured Poets Department. In an interview withVarietyin 2021, Braun expressed his "regret" over the situation and said it "makes me sad that Taylor had that reaction to the deal." "All of what happened has been very confusing and not based on anything factual. I don't know what story she was told. I asked for her to sit down with me several times, but she refused. I offered to sell her the catalog back and went under NDA, but her team refused," he said. "It all seems very unfortunate. Open communication is important and can lead to understanding. She and I only met briefly three or four times in the past, and all our interactions were really friendly and kind. I find her to be an incredibly talented artist and wish her nothing but the best." Swift has alluded to her feud with Braun in pointed lyrics, seemingly on theMidnightshit"Karma."In the song, she appears to references Braun's brand 100 Thieves, singing, "Spiderboy, king of thieves / Weave your little webs of opacity / My pennies made your crown / Trick me once, trick me twice / Don't you know that cash ain't the only price." Swift left Big Machine two years before the label was acquired, and signed with Universal Music Group in November 2018. Through her new deal, all of the master recordings that she makes belong to her. Read the original article onPeople
