Observe what they forced her to do.
After battling for years, Taylor Swift officially bought back the master recordings of her first six albums on Friday.
The deal’s value was not announced, but in 2019, Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings, a music management, purchased the master tapes for an estimated $300 million. Later, in 2020, the catalog was sold to the investment firm Shamrock Capital for a price that was reportedly more than Braun’s initial acquisition price.
Swift was extremely upset and disappointed when the original recordings of her six albums—”Taylor Swift” (2006), “Fearless” (2008), “Speak Now” (2010), “Red” (2012), “1989” (2014), and “Reputation” (2017)—were acquired for Big Machine Label Group.
Swift later rerecorded a number of the CDs, promoting them as “Taylor’s Version,” in an attempt to maintain some degree of control over her own compositions. In addition, she has published five albums since 2018 under a contract with Universal Music Group that allowed her to keep her masters.
Swift said, “To say this is my greatest dream come true is actually being pretty reserved about it,” in a website post addressed to her fans.
Swift is on par with some of the greatest music megastars of all time, and although the precise sale price is unknown, it is probably among the highest ever for a music catalog.
The money that can be earned from streaming rights through services like Spotify Technology (SPOT) and Pandora (SIRI), which currently account for around 70% of all industry revenue, is one of the most valuable features of a musician’s library. The back catalogs created by renowned artists account for a large portion of that.
Some of the largest music catalog sales ever are listed below:
$1.27 billion for Queen
The rock group “We Will Rock You” reportedly paid GBP1 billion (about $1.27 billion at the time) to Sony Music (SONY) (JP:6758) for its repertoire last year.
Aside from the money paid to the band for live concerts, the agreement gave Sony all future profits from the British glam-rock group’s library, which includes classics like “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Another One Bits the Dust,” and “We Are the Champions.”
1.2 billion dollars for Michael Jackson
Sony work, which valued the late singer’s work at $1.2 billion, agreed to pay $600 million early last year for a 50% share in Michael Jackson’s publication rights and master recordings.
Jackson allegedly gained the music rights to other artists, such as Sly & the Family Stone, Curtis Mayfield, and Jerry Lee Lewis, as part of that agreement.
$550 million for Bruce Springsteen
The Boss gave Sony Music the rights to his entire repertoire for an estimated $550 million, which at the time was regarded as one of the biggest deals ever made by an individual artist.
According to Springsteen, “I’m thrilled that my legacy will continue to be cared for by the company and people I know and trust,” following the announcement of the deal.
$400 million for Pink Floyd
The psychedelic-rock trio has been fighting for years, but last year they came to an agreement to sell Sony Music the rights to their name, music, and likeness in exchange for $400 million.
The rights to classic albums including “Dark Side of the Moon,” “The Wall,” “Wish You Were Here,” and “Piper at the Gates of Dawn” were included in the agreement.
Bob Dylan: $300 million
Dylan paid $300 million to Universal Music Publishing Group (NL:UMG) (UNVGY) in 2020 for the publishing rights to his whole discography.
The purchase, which featured timeless hits like “Blowin’ in the Wind,” “The Times They Are A-Changin’,” and “Like a Rolling Stone,” was thought to be the most expensive music library ever at the time.
Genesis and Phil Collins $300 million
For $300 million in 2022, English artist Phil Collins and the members of Genesis, the prog-rock band he fronted, gave Concord Music Group Inc. the rights to their repertoire.
The agreement covered publishing rights, streaming income, and the master recordings of Collins’s Genesis and solo work, which included songs like “Take Me Home,” “In the Air Tonight,” and “Sussudio.”
