Why is Taylor Swift re-recording her albums? Singer re-releases 2012 album Red - record label spat explained

Taylor Swift has paid tribute to her fans as she released her latest re-recorded album as part of a plan to regain control of her music.

The pop titan shared Red (Taylor’s Version), a hugely anticipated update on the 2012 original, on 12 November.

In a social media post celebrating Red (Taylor’s Version), Swift said the record had always belonged to her and her fans.

She wrote on Instagram: “Just a friendly reminder that I would never have thought it was possible to go back and remake my previous work, uncovering lost art and forgotten gems along the way, if you hadn’t emboldened me.

“Red is about to be mine again, but it has always been ours. Tonight we begin again. Red (my version) is out now.”

Here is everything you need to know about it.

What is new on the record?

The new version of the record includes 30 tracks compared to the original’s 16.

Among the new songs is a 10-minute version of ‘All Too Well’ – an anthem beloved by Swift fans and reportedly inspired by her doomed romance with Hollywood actor Jake Gyllenhaal.

Other additions include Nothing New, which features indie singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers, and ‘Run’, a collaboration with Ed Sheeran and ‘The Very First Night’.

Swift, 31, also added a voice memo to the Apple Music version of the album.

It says: “Musically and lyrically, Red resembled a heartbroken person. It was all over the place, a fractured mosaic of feelings that somehow all fit together in the end. Happy, free, confused, lonely, devastated, euphoric, wild, and tortured by memories past.

“Like trying on pieces of a new life, I went into the studio and experimented with different sounds and collaborators.

“And I’m not sure if it was pouring my thoughts into this album, hearing thousands of your voices sing the lyrics back to me in passionate solidarity, or if it was simply time, but something was healed along the way.”

Why is Taylor Swift re-recording her albums?

Swift embarked on the re-recording of her first six albums after the master recordings were acquired by talent manager Scooter Braun when he bought her former label, much to her fury.

By creating new versions of the songs, the superstar can regain ownership of the music.

Braun, the prominent talent manager whose clients include Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande, acquired the rights to Swift’s first six albums in 2019 when he bought Big Machine records.

Swift was furious at the move and accused Braun of “incessant, manipulative bullying”.

The masters changed hands again last year when a deal with investment firm Shamrock Capital was announced.

Swift signed with Universal Music in 2018 in a deal said to give her control of her master recordings.

Swift released the new version of her album Fearless in April. She still has to re-record her 2006 self-titled debut album, 2010’s Speak Now, 2014’s 1989 and 2017’s Reputation.

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