In the long-awaited episode of the New Heights podcast with Taylor Swift, she opened up to hosts Jason and Travis Kelce about many things, including reclaiming her masters to all of her music this summer. It was the first time Swift spoke at-length about what the sale meant to her, with her even tearing up as she recounted the details. Considering Scooter Braun’s involvement in owning Swift’s masters, fans were interested to hear his take on her quotes from the podcast, and now, he’s responded.
Swift shared the news of her buying her masters with a letter on her website on May 30. She also posted an Instagram photo showcasing all of the albums she now owns, captioning it, “You belong with me.” Back in 2019, Braun acquired Swift’s masters of her first six albums when Braun’s company, Ithaca Holdings, purchased Big Machine Records, including the rights to Swift’s albums. He then later sold the masters to Shamrock Capital for $300 million.
Swift has attempted to reclaim her masters for years, even deciding to re-record the albums to be able to own them. On Aug. 18, TMZ asked Braun about Swift’s appearance on the New Heights podcast, including when she got emotional talking about the process of finally getting her music back. It seems as though there’s no longer any bad blood between Braun and Swift because Braun simply responded, “I wish everybody the best.”
On Swift’s New Heights appearance, she elaborated on the saga, sharing that after her music was sold, she embarked on her re-recording journey. Swift reflected on her re-recording process, stating that re-recording “was the closest [she] ever thought [she] would get to owning [her] music.” She said, “I thought about not owning my music every day. It was like an intrusive thought I had every day.”
Swift shared that, after the Eras Tour, she met with her team and decided now would be a good time to approach the current owners of her masters, Shamrock Capital. She mentioned how she had no interest in a partnership or owning only some percent of her music — she wanted to own all of it. Instead of making it a business conversation, Swift stated that she’s in “the business of human emotion.” She said, “I would so much rather lead heart-first in something like this.”
She also had a different approach with who she sent to negotiate her deal. Swift didn’t send management or lawyers. Instead, she sent her mom and her brother. A couple months after the Super Bowl, when Swift was in Kansas City, Swift’s mom called her to break the news. She now officially owned the entirety of her masters: artwork, albums, music videos, and more. “This changed my life,” shared Swift after discussing how emotional she was after hearing the news. By reclaiming her masters, Swift has officially entered a new era: one entirely on her own terms.