By: Danielle Spitz

Edited by: Michelle Pak, Olivia Cohen, and Dheven Unni

November 2020 brings both good and bad news for Taylor Swift. This month marks the first time that Swift will be contractually permitted to re-record the biggest hits off of her first six studio albums. Swift is also reminded, however, that she is not legally in possession of her work as her master recordings, or the original recordings of songs, have been put into question for the second time in less than two years. The public controversy involving Swift’s recording copyrights was sparked after Scooter Braun’s media company Ithaca Holdings LLC purchased Swift’s former label Big Machine Label Group (BMLG), and with it Swift’s master recordings, in the summer of 2019. On Nov. 16, about 17 months after Braun acquired BMLG, it was announced that the entrepreneur sold Swift’s master rights again to the private equity firm Shamrock Holdings. This is the latest installment in Swift’s history of championing artists’ rights, including her challenges to streaming services Apple Music and Spotify over royalties and how they compensate artists. This latest challenge over music copyrights is representative of the longstanding struggle between artists and record labels to have exclusive rights to masters.

Music copyright is divided into sound recording and composition rights. Swift’s new deal with Universal Music Group’s Republic Records signed in November of 2018 gives her control of both for the first time in her career. Before entering this new deal, Swift’s compositions, or songwriting, belonged exclusively to Sony/ATV Music Publishing per a deal she signed with the music publisher at age 14. Swift signed a separate deal at age 15 with BMLG that gave the record label exclusive rights to her master recordings. Although Swift’s deal with Republic Records allows her to own her new music, she is still left battling for control over the music she recorded while signed with BMLG.

When Braun’s company purchased BMLG and Swift’s master rights for $300 million in 2019, Braun acquired much more than a few hit singles. Master recordings are major sources of revenue and licensing opportunities. Royalties from master recordings include those earned from streaming and consumption, sampling, public broadcast, and use in television and other forms of media. For Swift, this means she only receives a percentage of the royalties produced from her first six albums while BMLG takes the rest. Now that Braun has sold Swift’s masters for $300 million -- the same price for which he acquired BMLG in 2019 -- the ownership of Swift’s masters is once again in question. According to a recent post on Swift’s Twitter account, Braun made it very difficult for Swift to enter negotiations to repossess her old work. Braun’s new deal with Shamrock Holdings will still allow Braun to profit off of Swift’s old musical catalog, meaning Swift’s only solution to reclaim her music is to re-record her past albums.

Although Swift’s contract with BMLG is not considered unconventional in the music industry, it is indicative of the ongoing fight that artists face to own their work. Part of the complexity of this fight is the limited amount of information over copyrights that artists are privy to. Due to all of the monetary benefits that come with master rights, it is typically not in the label’s best interest to inform artists of certain copyright laws. Section 203 of the 1976 Copyright Revision Act does, however, include provisions that are essential to master rights for artists.

According to Section 203, artists may reclaim ownership of their music copyrights and master recordings 35 years after an album’s release. Also known as the “35-year law,” this provision allows for the termination of the copyrights of both sound recordings and musical compositions for works published in 1978 and after. There is also a five-year window after the end of the 35-year period, meaning the effective date of termination spans from 35 to 40 years after the publication of a work. Artists may send a Notice of Termination up to ten years before the end of a 35-year period and not less than two years prior to the end of the period. During those two years and up to the effective date of termination, the current record company, or publisher in the case of an author, has exclusive privileges to make a deal with the artist. This might lead to favorable terms for artists in that two-year period, but if no deal has been made in that time then the artist is free to make whatever deal they want or even put their recordings on their own label. Swift’s public argument with BMLG put the issue of artists’ rights in the spotlight, despite record labels’ attempts to shield artists from litigation that could help them reclaim their work.

Swift is not alone in her pursuits to reclaim ownership of her music copyrights. Other notable artists such as Prince, Jay-Z, and Janet Jackson have publicly expressed their anguish over not owning the master rights to their work. Although Swift and other prominent artists have become the face of this issue, the question of artists owning their own work also has real implications for lesser-known artists. The common tradeoff is for record labels to invest in unknown talent, such as Swift at age 15, while maintaining master rights. For struggling artists, this is often their best option to break into the music industry. However, Swift’s powerful stance might indicate that the status quo is due for a change.

Bibliography:

Coscarelli, J. and Sisario, B. (2019, July 1). “Taylor Swift’s Feud With Scooter Braun Spotlights Musicians’ Struggles to Own Their Work.” New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/01/arts/music/taylor-swift-master-recordings.html.

Haack, B. (2017, Sept. 29). “Why Are So Few Artists Fighting To Get Back Their Masters?” Grammy News. https://www.grammy.com/grammys/news/why-are-so-few-artists-fighting-get-back-their-masters

Halperin, S. (2020, Nov. 16). “Scooter Braun Sells Taylor Swift’s Big Machine Masters for Big Pay Day.” Variety. https://variety.com/2020/music/news/scooter-braun-sells-taylor-swift-big-machine-masters-1234832080/.

Ingham, T. (2019, Dec. 9). “Taylor Swift Plans to Re-Record Her Hits. Here’s What She Might Be Facing.” Rolling Stone. https://www.rollingstone.com/pro/features/taylor-swift-plans-to-re-record-her-hits-heres-what-she-might-be-facing-923019/.

Meiselman, J. (2019, Nov. 20). “Taylor Swift’s Messy Legal Situation, Explained.” Vice. https://www.vice.com/en/article/wjw3v4/taylor-swifts-messy-legal-situation-with-scooter-braun-big-machine-explained.

Sisario, B. (2020, Feb. 6). “Taylor Swift’s Next Big Deal Is for Her Songwriting.” New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/06/arts/music/taylor-swift-universal-publishing-deal.html.