Taylor Swift is the Queen of Pop so it may be surprising that she doesn't own the masters to all her music. So, which albums does Taylor Swift own?

Summary

• Taylor Swift owns the rights to eight of her albums, thanks to signing with Universal Music Group and Republic Records after leaving her first record label, Big Machine Records.
• The "Eras Tour" showcases Taylor Swift's journey through her music, featuring rereleased songs, re-recorded albums, and previously unreleased tracks.
• Swift has been highly decorated for her music, winning multiple Album of the Year awards at the Grammys and receiving numerous nominations and wins for her re-recordings.

Taylor Swift has produced hundreds of songs over the course of her career, but which albums does Taylor Swift own in her discography? One of the preeminent pop stars of the modern era, Swift is a cultural icon for her songwriting, acting, and musical versatility. Swift’s Eras Tour initially concluded its U.S. leg in August 2023, though more dates were added, and the popstar will tour worldwide until November 2024. The Eras Tour has been a massive financial and critical success in every city it has visited. There will also be an accompanying concert film called Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, which will release on October 13, 2023.

The title "Eras" comes from the idea behind the concert, a tour through all the eras of Swift’s music. During the tour, she rereleased "Eyes Open", "Safe & Sound", a re-recording of "If This Was a Movie", and a previously unreleased outtake "All of the Girls You Loved Before". Along with these songs, Swift also released her third re-recorded album, Speak Now (Taylor's Version), and announced the re-recorded version of 1989 (Taylor's Version), set for October 2023. Considering Swift’s history with re-recorded albums, the re-release of these two vaunted collections during this tour is a powerful statement about Taylor Swift’s ownership of her music.

Every Album Taylor Swift Owns

• Lover (2019)
• folklore (2020)
• evermore (2020)
• Fearless (Taylor's Version) (2021)
• Red (Taylor's Version) (2021)
• Midnights (2022)
• Speak Now (Taylor's Version) (2023)
• 1989 (Taylor's Version) (2023)

Taylor Swift began owning her own albums after she left her first record label, Big Machine Records. In November 2018, Swift signed up with Universal Music Group and Republic Records which gave her exclusive ownership of her masters (via Variety). Swift has been highly decorated for her music since her very first album, Taylor Swift (2006). At age 20, Swift was the youngest person to ever win Album of the Year at the Grammys for Fearless (2008), until Billie Eilish, then 18, won in 2020 with When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?

Swift is one of only four artists to win three or more Album of the Year Awards at the Grammys, winning for Fearless, 1989 (2014), and folklore (2020). All together, Swift has been nominated for over 1000 awards, winning over 500 of those nominations including 40 American Music Awards, the most by any artist. The Taylor’s Version re-recordings began in 2021 and have received nominations and wins of their own including the better-than-the-original Red (Taylor’s Version), which won Top Country Album at the Billboard Music Awards. This will leave only her Taylor Swift and Reputation albums left to re-record.

Taylor Swift's Masters Controversy Explained

The reason Taylor Swift is re-recording her albums is because of a controversy stemming from her first record label, Big Machine Records. After Swift’s record deal with Big Machine expired, she signed on with Republic Records, but Big Machine still owned all the rights to the back catalog of her masters, essentially her life’s work. When Swift attempted to purchase back her catalog, she was stonewalled. It was then revealed in 2019 that Scooter Braun had purchased the entirety of Big Machine Records, including Swift’s masters. She not only felt lied to but also disrespected, as Swift had a personal feud with Scooter Braun.

Swift also accused Scott Borchetta, the CEO of Big Machine Records, of selling her work out from under her without ever giving her the chance to purchase her own catalog, according to Cosmopolitan. Borchetta and Swift traded barbs on social media, accusing the other of not being genuine and of owing money to the other party. By re-recording her albums again, Taylor Swift has been able to reclaim the songs of her early career and add a new dimension to those early tracks with her more mature voice and style.