Taylor’s Version: The Story and Upcoming Albums

Have you ever been listening to Taylor Swift and noticed that your favorite Taylor Swift song has (Taylor’s Version) in the title? Have you ever wondered why? Beginning with the release of the rerecording of Fearless, Taylor only has two more re-recordings to release, Taylor Swift (self-titled album) and Reputation. 

What is the Story Behind Taylor’s Version?

The story starts farther back than you think. Taylor Swift signed to Big Machine Records in 2005, 1 year before the release of her self-titled album, Taylor Swift. Under her original label, Taylor released 6 albums (Taylor Swift, Fearless, Speak Now, Red, 1989, and Reputation). After her contract with Big Machine Records expired in 2018, she switched over to Republic Records, leaving Big Machine Records with her masters (original recordings), meaning her old record label owned the rights and earned profit from her first six albums. 

Soon after, Big Machine Records was sold to Ithaca Holdings, owned by Scooter Braun who then sold her masters to another company, Shamrock Holdings for allegedly $300 million in 2019. This means all of Swift’s self-written songs from her first 6 albums profit Scooter Braun, not Taylor nor Republic Records. Every album after the first six (Lover, Folklore, Evermore, Midnights, and all re-recordings) on the other hand, profit Swift and Republic Records. 

Now Taylor is taking back her ownership with Taylor’s Version.

Recent re-recordings

Throughout the year 2023, fans received two re-recordings. Those two are“Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” including fan favorites like Enchanted, and “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” packed with smash hits like “Shake It Off”, “Bad Blood”, and “Blank Space”. With every re-release fans can expect vault tracks. One song that is popular right now is “Is It Over Now” (From The Vault). Vault tracks are songs that were written during the original era, but did not end up making the final cut.

No Explanation; Just Reputation

The last remaining albums to be recorded are Reputation and Taylor Swift and fans are convinced that Reputation is up next. Recently, some of Taylor’s closest friends changed their profile pictures on Instagram to black and white. This might not seem like a big deal but it seems to be a huge tease to the release of Reputation (Taylor’s Version). If you look closely at the 1989 (Taylor’s Version) cover you will notice the S in Taylor’s Version has something that appears to look like a snake, representing Reputation. Some fans even think Taylor’s outfits are easter eggs! Although these are just theories, fans can expect a great album from Taylor.

Taylor Swift has come a long way starting with the rerelease of Fearless and fans are looking forward to the last two re-releases. What did you think of 1989 (Taylor’s Version)? Leave a comment!