QQ: Exactly How Can Taylor Swift Rerecord All Six of Her Old Albums?
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Taylor Swift, ever the ambitious pop star, is embarking on what’s probably her wildest project to date—rerecording six of her nine albums entirely from scratch. It kinda goes without saying that the rerecording process will be an arduous task, but I’m sure Tay would love any opportunity to laugh in the face of Scooter Braun for thinking he could purchase her masters and get away with it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
But one major question remains: Is it actually possible for Taylor to rerecord most of her catalogue? And could she get into legal or financial trouble for trying? The answers to your most pressing Swiftie questions, below.
So how many songs does Taylor need to rerecord?
Well, if you tally up all the songs and bonus tracks from Taylor’s self-titled debut album, Fearless, Speak Now, Red, 1989, and Reputation—excluding live versions, demo versions, and voice memos, mind you—that’s a little more than 100 songs Taylor has to breathe new life into. But considering she put out Folklore and Evermore back-to-back earlier this year, followed quickly by her Fearless hit “Love Story,” I have no doubt that’ll be a breeze for Tay.
How much will rerecording cost Taylor?
Multimillionaire Taylor likely isn’t too worried about the financial cost of reproducing her old works, but there still is one. “While an aggressive rerecording effort would be driven by principle, not money, there are nonetheless still economic considerations,” music lawyer James Sammataro told Rolling Stone. “There is the cost of production—admittedly, a drop in the bucket.” There’s also a licensing fee, but that should be no biggie.
Are there any legal blocks Taylor might run into?
Short answer: It depends on how the new songs sound. According to TMZ, Big Machine Records has an “original production clause.” This clause essentially prohibits Taylor from making her forthcoming songs sound exactly like the original versions, so to compensate, Taylor will need to make sure her new recordings sound distinguishable from her older ones to avoid any legal probs.
Final Q! Can Taylor *really* do this?
She sure can! Taylor has (impressively) written the vast majority of her songs solo since the release of her debut album, so rerecording will be a snap because she doesn’t have to worry about drama on the copyright and publishing side of things. Per Rolling Stone, Taylor will not have to ask for permission from Liz Rose (cowriter on Tay’s self-titled album and Fearless) or Nathan Chapman (one of Tay’s longtime producers) to rerecord either. To sum it up, Tay looks good to go!
All that said, I cannot wait to sink my teeth into Red (Taylor’s Version), which just dropped today. My wallet—and ears!—are ready.
You love all the deets on Taylor. So do we! Let’s overanalyze them together.
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