How Will Taylor Swift’s Masters Ownership Saga Be Remembered?

Today’s episode is about Taylor Swift. We’re a few weeks removed from the news about her buying her original music. How will this situation be remembered in the future? We broke it all down with Tati Cirisano from MIDiA Research. Listen to our podcast episode here or read below for a few highlights.

The dust has now settled on the Taylor Swift masters ownership saga. It's been a few weeks since Swift bought back the music rights associated with her original six studio albums that she made with Scott Borchetta's Big Machine Label Group. Over the past few weeks, there have been two questions I have thought about:

What will she do next?

It's timely that Swift bought her music rights in an era where more artists than ever have sold theirs. Shamrock Capital is usually in the business of buying from artists, not selling to artists.

We've seen Swift partner with the biggest entertainment companies in the world, like Disney, AMC, Netflix, and others, to leverage their distribution to extend her reach. When Swift had issues with streaming’s business model, she pulled her catalog off of Spotify and others. And when her masters were sold, she didn't just complain about it, she recorded Taylor’s Version, which kicked off The Eras Tour.

What's next now that all her music is hers? An ABBA Voyage-style experience? An Adele-style artist residency that's custom built for her? The Super Bowl Halftime Show?

Swift is's the rare artist who became a billionaire without the standard "bottom of funnel" products that many artist-turned billionaires have launched. No cosmetics, spirits, or apparel brands. She made her money from music sales, ticket sales, and brand partnerships.

To be clear, self-ownership of music rights does not need to be exploited to justify said ownership. Russ, Jay Z, and Swift herself have reminded us of this. This is their life's work. She may very well do nothing to exploit the underlying rights she now owns.

But this is Taylor Swift, one of the strongest capitalists in the industry. She makes moves that maximize both artistic control and commercial success. If there's an opportunity to maximize in music, and the demand from her fans is there, I expect her to move in that direction.

How will history remember this saga?

It's easy to forget that there was a time when Taylor Swift wasn't beloved. There was a period leading up to Reputation with the Kanye West-Kim Kardashian 2016 "Famous" drama. It was a rough patch for a career that thrives on public perception, but years later the incident was re-examined with a different lens and new information. That's how culture works. We reassess everything, especially in the age of social media.

Our culture also tears down the same stars that we spend decades building up.

Jay Z is the perfect example of how this plays out over time. In the Obama years, he proudly and publicly celebrated Black excellence. The Watch The Throne album and “Otis” music video, alcohol brand deals, sit downs with Warren Buffet. He transformed hip-hop credibility into corporate power.

Today, Jay is wealthier and more powerful than he was years ago, but he’s toned down a lot of that, and the public perception of his actions is arguably more mixed. Society is also more critical of capitalism than ever. Jay has been criticized for Roc Nation's NFL partnership and comments on Colin Kaepernick despite his own philanthropic efforts. The "eat the rich" mentality led to Jay's response to his critics. The same success that made him inspirational to many has made him a target to others.

Similarly, the criticisms about Swift are there too. Do a search for "capitalist queen." The articles, thinkpieces, and Reddit threads are abundant yet quieter than the overwhelming praise for Swift's ownership journey. Right now, her wealth feels more palatable because it's tied directly to her art rather than diversified business ventures. But as her empire grows and her influence deepens, she'll likely face the same scrutiny that eventually touches all mega-successful public figures.

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Chartmetric Stat of the Week - Pandora Music (Taylor’s Version)

Despite dominating most streaming platforms, Taylor Swift is just 92nd on Pandora for monthly listeners with 3.45 M. Her re-recorded “Taylor’s Versions” likely reset her cumulative play count on Pandora’s lean-back radio model, which limited the traction of her music. Meanwhile, Pandora’s U.S.-centric, country-heavy listener base has led to artists like Morgan Wallen (10.79M) and Luke Combs (7.37M) thriving on the platform.