What Exactly is “Taylor’s Version”?

Emma Hovan

“1989” never goes out of style! Taylor Swift just released the re-recorded version of her fifth studio album “1989.” Fans can’t get enough of the album. The quote, “We found wonderland,” from Swift’s song “Wonderland” perfectly sums up how fans feel when they are listening to the album.

Have the words ‘’Taylor’s Version” ever been next to a Taylor Swift song on Spotify, Youtube or Apple Music? Many Non-Swifties might not know what this means, so here is everything listeners need to know about “Taylor’s Version” and why it is so important.

In a simple sense, it is the same album just re-recorded. The purpose of this wasn’t just for fun; it was actually a business move.

According to the online newspaper article, “What exactly does “Taylors Version” mean? Here’s what you need to know” from today.com,

When Swift was just 15-years old, she signed with Big Machine Records. The contract she signed gave the company ownership to the masters of her first six studio albums.

“Masters” refers to the copyright in the sound recording of a piece of music. In simpler terms, she owns everything about the song like the lyrics and melodies, but not the actual recordings. 

Because Swift didn’t own the publicly released version of the songs, she wasn’t making any money, which was a big reason why she would eventually re-record.

When her contract expired in 2018, she decided to sign with a different company. Swift had originally planned on buying back her masters, but the deal never went through because they wanted her to create six more albums under their label.

In 2019 Swift’s “enemy” Scooter Braun bought Big Machine Records, including her masters. Swift was not going down, especially without a fight.

That’s why in August 2019, Swift announced that she would be re-recording her first six studio albums. Since then she has released “Fearless” (Taylor’s Version), “Red” (Taylor’s Version), “Speak Now” (Taylor’s Version) and “1989” (Taylor’s Version).

Swift still isn’t done re-recording her albums. She is in the process of releasing her debut and sixth studio album, “Taylor Swift” and “Reputation.”

Many may wonder what is actually new or different about the re-records, the answer: new songs. Swift adds something called “Vault Tracks” to her albums.

These are just like they sound, songs locked away. These tracks were originally written for a specific album, but were scrapped when it came time to produce. So when she goes to re-record, she takes these thrown away songs and declares them “Vault tracks.”

The reason Swift may have re-recorded the albums at first was solely from a business perspective, but it has turned into much more, it has become a way for her to recover her independence.

 According to Billboard.com’s article, “Here’s Everything Taylor Swift Has Said About Re-recording,”

 Swift said, “It’s going to be fun, because it’ll feel like regaining freedom and taking back what’s mine.”

Even if everybody isn’t a total Swiftie, they should at least do their part by swapping out their old Taylor Swift songs, and replacing them with “Taylor’s Version.”