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--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Not all journalism is the same. Take The Guardian. Our coverage has something unique, fierce independence. Nobody owns us or tells us what we can and can't say. So we're free to report the whole picture. We connect what's happening in Washington to the rest of the globe, expose corruption wherever we find it, and give fresh perspective on everything from wellness and soccer to culture, the climate and more. Read, watch and listen to The Guardian for free at theguardian.com.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: A bunch of your dad's favorite songwriters have been selling off their songs. Late last year, Bob Dylan sold the rights to more than 600 of his songs to Universal Music for an estimated $300 million. Shortly after that, Neil Young sold 50% of the rights to his 1,000-plus songs to a British investment firm. Stevie Nicks sold off 80% of her publishing rights. Lindsey Buckingham went with 100%. And just last week, Paul Simon sold off his entire catalog to Sony.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: COVID has probably expedited the thinking for a lot of these legends. Touring's out. Merch is out. everyone sitting at home streaming, which has dramatically increased the value of back catalogs. Instead of dying and having everyone come out of the woodwork to fight over the rights to their music a la Prince Aretha Franklin and Tom Petty, artists are cashing out before they did. Call it end-of-life planning.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: But all the while, one of the biggest singer-songwriters working in popular music today, maybe the biggest, is doing something very different. At what you could argue is the artistic peak of her career, Taylor Swift is re-recording her first six albums. And she's doing it because she's in a very different place than the singer-songwriters of yore.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Taylor Swift doesn't own the rights to her first six albums. So take a look what you've done. But by re-recording them and convincing fans to listen to the new versions, she can win back the rights to her music.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Hey! Shirley Li wrote about Taylor Swift's gambit for The Atlantic. She says it's a big deal for two reasons. Reason one? I think it's important for the business at large because this is something that a lot of musicians and artists wouldn't really attempt to do. So if she can really do this, re-record everything, and have it be successful, that's kind of a proof of concept for other pop stars to do the same thing, to own their work fully.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Reason two. Creatively speaking, it's interesting to see how an artist reinterprets their previous work. And for her, as someone whose music is diaristic, is based on her life, it'll be interesting to see how she reinterprets the past Taylor.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Full disclosure, Shirley's a fan. They call themselves Swifties. I am now a Swifty, and I have been a Swifty in the past, but I will say that my Swiftiness has waxed and waned over the years. She's had a long career. It's true. She's only like 31, and she already has like, what, nine albums? So let's talk about where this story begins. How does Taylor come to want to re-record the first six of them?
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: The timeline is a little bit blurry here, but let's just say around the time of her peak, her world domination with the album 1989. That was back in like 2014. She dropped that album. This one's got like blank space for all the people at home. Yes. Maybe not paying full attention, but caught a couple songs here and there. This one has blank space. this one has shake it off this is when she becomes taylor swift pop star and she's building up her squad and she ends up becoming perhaps a little overexposed.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Shortly before the Grammy Awards, shortly before she wins Album of the Year for a second time in her career, Kanye West, who she also has a very long history with, he's the artist who interrupted her acceptance speech way back when in 2009. Yo, Taylor, I'm really happy for you. I'm gonna let you finish. But Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time. One of the best videos of all time.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: But they made up. It was all good. Now, before this Grammy, he releases a song called Famous. in which he claims that he made her famous because of that incident in 2009. But basically, she takes offense to the fact that he claimed that he made her famous and also the fact that he calls her a bitch in the song. I made that bitch famous. Goddamn. I made that bitch famous.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Not to mention the video features like a bunch of naked mannequins in bed with Kanye West and his wife, including Taylor Swift. Yeah, yeah. So she didn't like any of that. And during her speech at the Grammys, she expresses how she, her fame, her success is not owed to anybody else except for herself.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: There are going to be people along the way who will try to undercut your success or take credit for your accomplishments or your fame. He and his wife then release a video in which she can be heard over the phone approving the lyrics I mean yeah I mean go with whatever line you think is better It's obviously very tongue-in-cheek either way. Yeah. And I really appreciate you telling me about it. That's really nice.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Oh, yeah. I just had a responsibility to you as a friend, you know, and I mean, thanks for being like so cool about it. but not specifically the lyric that calls her a bitch. That feud is back on.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: What happens next is Taylor kind of disappears. Everyone is going onto her social media feeds, leaving the snake emoji calling her a snake. Kim is calling her a snake. Her reputation, which is then the name of her next album, is, you know, destroyed in her perspective, in Taylor's perspective.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And I think we have to go through all of this because Kanye at that time, as far as we know, was managed by Scooter Braun. And who is Scooter Braun? Scooter Braun is a music executive who manages a lot of artists you probably have heard of or have listened to. Justin Bieber being the big one. I got my peaches out in Georgia. Oh, yeah, shit. I get my weed from California. Ariana Grande being another one. Thought I'd end up with Sean. But it wasn't a match More recently, Demi Lovato. Baby, I'm sorry I'm not sorry Baby, I'm sorry
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: He has a lot of influence in the music industry. And he's got a relationship with Kanye West at a time when Kanye West has a lot of beef with Taylor Swift. Yes. In terms of what Scooter Braun's looking for, he's a businessman. He's a big music executive. He's always looking for opportunities to expand his portfolio. and Scott Borchetta, the owner of Big Machine Records, Taylor's old record label, she was basically Big Machine. She was the main artist over there and Scott Borchetta is looking to, I guess, unload, you know, an artist who is no longer really operating in the country space. Hmm, because at this point, Taylor's made this transition to being a full-fledged pop star.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Yeah, at this point, Taylor has pretty much shed her country roots. She's gone full-blown pop. Hmm. So what happens next? So when, in 2019, Scooter Braun then purchases Taylor's library, her first six albums owned by her old record label, Taylor sees this as something that she cannot stand for.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: How much does it cost to buy the rights to Taylor Swift's first six albums, including 1989? Hundreds of millions of dollars, about a reported $300 million. And how much of that does Taylor Swift get? Zero. Hmm. She responds with a letter that she posts to social media explaining how Scooter Braun to her is someone who has been a bully in the past and who would be the last person that she would want owning her music and making money off of it.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Scooter's team wanted me to sign an ironclad NDA stating I would never say another word about Scooter Braun unless it was positive before we could even look at the financial records of BMLG, which is always the first step in a purchase of this nature. So I would have had to sign a document that would silence me forever before I could even have a chance to bid on my own work. My legal team said that this is absolutely not normal, and they've never seen an NDA like this presented unless it was to silence an assault accuser by paying them off.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: He would never even quote my team a price. These master recordings were not for sale to me. So how do Taylor Swift's fans respond? So most of Taylor Swift's fans rallied behind her. They saw Scooter Braun as the big bad. They needed to protect Taylor's work. They saw Taylor as kind of this David against Goliath being this entire music industry in the way that it doesn't prioritize artist ownership over their own creative work.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: But the thing is, this is the internet. So things escalated quite quickly. And as with any passionate fandom, a subset of fans were aggressive towards Scooter Braun and towards Scott Borchetta. And Scooter... How aggressive do these Taylor Swift fans get? Well, some of them ended up, you know, pummeling Scooter Braun with death threats. Taylor Swift fans, the Swifties issue death threats? his family with death threats specifically.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Yeah, and so Scooter had to come out with a statement, I believe an open letter to, well, to advise Taylor Swift basically to get a control over fans. I assume this was not your intention, but it is important that you understand that your words carry a tremendous amount of weight and that your message can be interpreted by some in different ways.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: While I'm disappointed that you've remained silent after being notified by your attorney four days ago these ongoing threats. I'm still hopeful we can fix this. It sounds like she doesn't have a lot of love for Scooter Braun, but is he really doing anything terribly untoward here? I mean, or is he just a businessman doing business things?
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Oh, man. I think if you ask a hardcore Swifty, it's the former. If you look at it from a business perspective, it's very much the latter. It's Scooter Braun being the businessman he's always been. He sold Taylor Swift's back catalog. A little over a year after he acquired the rights to Taylor Swift's back catalog, he sold them to a private equity firm called Shamrock Capital. So then he made about $300 million off of that deal.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: So again, businessman doing business. So wait, Scooter Braun doesn't even own Taylor Swift's back catalog anymore in present day, what, April 2021? He doesn't fully own it, but he is still making money off of it. In the deal with Shamrock, he managed to still be siphoning off some of whatever profits come from licensing that old music. And she's not going to stand for it?
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Yeah, she's not going to stand for it. So the next step she takes is she decides to re-record those first six albums. She can't own the old stuff, but because of the terms of her contract, she can own all the new versions if she re-records them? Yeah all of the music that she had already released she decides to go back in the studio try to bring back you know her old collaborators from more than a decade ago and re those songs She does not want Scooter Braun making any money off of her earlier work. She wants to be the one owning her songs, licensing her songs, and ultimately devaluing the songs that Scooter Braun now owns.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Huh. So for the time being, Scooter Braun's still getting paid off Taylor Swift's songs. She doesn't like it, and she's going to do something about it. Yep, that is the plan. Old City and all you're ever gonna be is mean. Someday I'll be big enough so you can't hit me. And all you're ever gonna be is mean. Why you gotta be so mean?
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: After the space, whether this plan's gonna work. You, with your switching sides and your wildfire lies and your humiliation view. I pointed out my flaws again as if I don't already see them. I'll walk with my head down trying to block you out because I'll never...
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--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Chime says with qualifying direct deposits, you can be eligible for free overdraft, up to $200 on debit card purchases and cash withdrawals. Plus, they say you don't need to worry about monthly fees or maintenance fees. You can work on your financial goals through Chime today. You can open an account in two minutes at Chime.com slash explained. That's Chime.com slash explained. Chime feels like progress.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: This message is brought to you by Apple Card. Each Apple product, like the iPhone, is thoughtfully designed by skilled designers. The titanium Apple Card is no different. It's laser etched, has no numbers, and it earns you daily cash on everything you buy, including 3% back on everything at Apple. Apply for Apple Card on your iPhone in minutes. Subject to credit approval, Apple Card is issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Salt Lake City Branch. Terms and more at AppleCard.com.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Are you ready for it? I guess the million dollar question, Shirley, or maybe the $300 million question in this case, is Taylor Swift is going to re-record her back catalog. Will it work? That is the $300 million question. So far, it's working. Really? We already know? Well, so far, she's released one re-recording, and that is Love Story, parentheses, Taylor's version.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: We were both young when I first saw you. I closed my eyes and the flashback starts. I'm standing there on a balcony in summer air. And that, when it was released, topped the U.S. iTunes chart. It topped the charts. You have to remember, she's a massive, massive star. I would argue that if, you know, anybody lower than that tier of A-plus list attempted this, you probably wouldn't see this happen. You wouldn't see a re-recording top the chart immediately.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: I'm glad you brought this up, Shirley, because I believe Rolling Stone Magazine last year, the one before that, released a small but thorough piece of journalism about the band Weedus. Do you remember Weedus? Do you remember Teenage Dirtbag from the soundtrack to the movie Loser with Jason Biggs, Shirley?
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Do I remember? Cause I'm just a teenage dirtbag, baby Yeah, I'm just a teenage dirtbag, baby Listen to Iron Maiden, baby Well, teenage dirtbag, like I feel Taylor Swift is for you, was a huge part of my growing up. And apparently they lost the masters. Like it wasn't the label's fault. It wasn't the management's fault. It wasn't the band's fault. But just no one could find the masters to this song.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: So that when people wanted to license the song, the band actually couldn't do much. When they wanted to remix the song, the band couldn't provide the original tapes. So the lead singer went and re-recorded the song. And I wanted to support him. He like found all the old instruments they use. and we're trying to figure out, oh, what is that thing that happens in the bridge and all this stuff? But it just didn't sound as good. Ah, that's disappointing.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Is Taylor Swift going to be dealing with the same thing? Or does she have some sort of, you know, superpower of recreation here? I do think that Taylor has the capability of making these re-recording sound just as good. She's become a better singer. She has more control over her voice. She is also someone who has a lot more influence than the Taylor Swift in the very beginning of her career.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: So she is able to recruit whatever artists she wants onto these re-recording albums. So all of this is just to say that I'm afraid Taylor Swift is a much bigger star than Weedis. Ouch. Shots fired out here. And she does have the power to make these re-recordings work You know, another recent example of someone doing something like this is Cat Stevens Who re-recorded Father and Son And there's this great episode of the podcast Song Exploder About this re-recording in which he kind of sings the song As an older Cat Stevens to a younger Cat Stevens I could talk I was ordered to listen now there a way And I know that I have to go away And the song changes It's got like a lot more strings, it sounds a little more schmaltzy.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: But is that what Taylor's doing here? Is it let's do a faithful re-recording as best we can of the original six albums? Or is it, let's have Taylor Swift plus 10-ish years re-imagine her original music? It's somewhere in the middle between those two notes. It's closer to the faithful end of the spectrum.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: So far, just given what we've heard from her first re-recording, she has faithfully you know re-recorded the song itself in terms of production in terms of the lyrics but i think she understands fundamentally that the people who are going to be seeking out these re-recordings are not people who are new to taylor swift the people who are going to be listening to this you know album as soon as it drops and the first one drops tomorrow yeah Those people are the ones who have been Swifties for a long time and want to hear how she thinks about her music now.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And so, again, I know I'm speaking in kind of abstract terms, but it's largely faithful with the difference being that she is kind of playful with it. You know, she's not a teenager anymore singing Love Story. Her interpretation of the song does sound more mature, not just because her vocals have matured, but because of the way she's playing with her tone when she's singing. So she gives a little clip to certain words. She sounds warmer. It's not as pleading of a song.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Still, though, it does seem like a bit of a risky venture, even if you're one of the biggest pop stars in the world, because it's just going to take a ton of time, right? I mean, what's the potential payoff here for Taylor? Well, here's the thing. Taylor's music is very specific to her, right? Her music has always been diaristic. It is about her life. She's written all of her music or co-written it.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: So I think she feels a sense of ownership over her music in a way that a lot of other artists might not. She wants to feel ownership. She wants to stop feeling like her music and her, you know, her soul got sold off to someone she dislikes and has considered a bully throughout her career. On the business end, though, this does allow her to be the one owning the music and licensing the music and profiting off of the music.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: She has always been an advocate for artist ownership. Over the years, I think, she's written op-eds about how important it is for artists to be compensated for their work when they land on streaming platforms like Spotify. She's always thought about it from a business perspective. And presumably if someone wants to license Shake It Off for an upcoming Care Bear movie, if they go to Scooter Braun for the original version, Taylor Swift will come out and say, they're going to Scooter and not me for my new version.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Swifties attack. Well, so far, it doesn't seem like she has done that because a Care Bears movie has not happened. No, but it does seem like what she could do is re-record Shake It Off immediately and say that this is the version that I would like to be used. And I am the artist who wrote this song. I'm the artist who recorded this song. I'm the one who's singing it. Please use this one instead.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And as a very powerful musician, chances are the powers that be would listen. Yeah, yeah. That seems to be what's happening. But it will ultimately be up to fans about which version to listen to, the old version or the new version, right? And there's something very powerful here when it comes to nostalgia. If your ear is keen enough, you're going to hear a difference. And both versions might end up being on streaming platforms like Spotify or Apple Music or whatever it's called at this point. And fans will have the ultimate choice here.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Is that right? Yeah, that is right. I think, you know, her most devoted fans have seen this as a chance to take a moral stand. So they're going to be the ones who are really looking at which version they'll be listening to. They've probably already removed, you know, the old versions off of their Taylor Swift playlists. And I think what we're seeing with Taylor's music is that she understands it's not just the song. She really wants to get her fans on board with the idea that she is in this process with them. That nostalgia is not just about the art itself, but it's about your connection to the art.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: I think this entire endeavor is an example of how Taylor Swift is not just an artist but also a shrewd businesswoman. Which I think has always been there, right? Her father is a businessman. She's picked up some tricks, I think, over the years. But I think this just goes to show she's both able to go tit for tat with a businessman and continue to be a creative storyteller through her music. What's that like?
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: I'm so sick of running as fast as I can Wondering if I'd get there quick or if I was a man And I'm so sick of them coming at me again Cause if I was a man Then I'd be the man I'd be the man Shirley Li is a staff writer at The Atlantic where she writes about culture. You can find her work at theatlantic.com I'm Sean Rameswaram for him. this is Today Explained. Thank you.
