Glamour, sexism and backstabbing – American singer Taylor Swift's battle to reclaim ownership of her earliest works had all the ingredients of a gripping TV series. And the enticing summary? A triumph of labor over capital.

On Friday, May 30, the superstar announced she had bought back the masters, or original recordings, of her first six albums from investment fund Shamrock Capital. The amount of the transaction was not disclosed, but it gives her full control over the albums Taylor Swift (2006) through Reputation (2017), including rights for physical sales, streaming and licensing to films. The artist now controls her entire discography.

In 2004, as a teenager, she signed a standard industry contract with record label Big Machine, giving its founder, Scott Borchetta, the exploitation rights to six albums. In 2018, Swift joined Universal Music, where she retained the masters of her future albums. However, her first six albums remained the property of Borchetta until he sold his label in 2019 to celebrity agent Scooter Braun for $300 million (€263 million).

The buyer, a close associate of the rapper Kanye West – Swift's longtime public adversary – made the acquisition without consulting her, according to the singer. At an awards ceremony in December 2019, Swift accused Braun and his backers of representing "toxic male privilege" in the music industry and criticized the investment funds that financed the purchase, comparing the deal to buying "a shoe line," never once considering the artist's feelings.

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