American singer Taylor Swift kicked off her career as a country singer, but with the release of her pop album, “1989,” Swift made a culture shift.
In 2014, for 11 individual weeks, “1989” was ranked Billboard’s No.1 album. “Taylor’s Version” is on its way to the same success with more than a quarter-million copies sold in the US on the first day of its release.
Swift first signed her record deal with Big Machine Records when she was 15. This deal gave the label control of her first 6 albums. Scott Borchetta was the owner of Big Machine, but, in 2019, he sold the company to Scooter Braun. Swift was offered the option to ‘earn’ her albums back if she continued making music with Big Machine.
“‘The reason I’m re-recording my music is because I want my music to live on,’” Swift said in Billboard in 2019, stated in The Week.
Big Machine only owns the songs/albums that were released, but Swift has publishing rights, making it legal for her to re-record all of her albums. This is why Swift started the process to re-released all of her albums.
Swift has re-recorded four albums; “Fearless,” “Red,” “Speak Now,” and “1989.” The remaining albums to re-release are “Reputation” and “Taylor Swift.”
The Eras Tour began in Glendale, Arizona on March 17,2023. The tour gained fame in Swift’s fan base as fans would tailgate outside if they could not afford a ticket in. Addison Talley, a Swift fan, or ‘Swiftie’, went to the Eras tour before Swift re-released “1989” on April 28, 2023. Talley and her mom went to the tour with friends when Swift came to Atlanta, Georgia. Talley’s favorite song from the “1989” album is “Out Of The Woods.”
“These new albums help support Taylor because she has the right to own them now.” Talley said.
With these releases, Swift’s fans can listen to their favorite albums for the first time again. They also get to listen to new songs that she wrote during the time of the album’s original release. These new additions are called “Vault Tracks” and on previous album releases there have been anywhere from six to nine songs.
Senior Mia Bracken and sophomore Raina LaBonte went to the 1989 tour when Swift came to D.C. in 2015. LaBonte got a pair of sunglasses that say 1989 and Swift’s initials T.S.
“I got to go up close, and I got a picture with her,” Bracken said. “It was my first big concert, so it was cool.”
Swift is known for her play on words, foreshadowing, and Easter eggs. For example, USA Today says that the last two digits of 1989 are 8/9, which was the date Swift announced the album’s release. The original “1989” album was released October 27, 2014, and she re-released 9 years later on October 27, 2023. Fans predicted that “1989” would be the next album released when they saw a “1989 TV” sign in the music video of “I Can See You.”
“Taylor Swift is called the “Music Industry” because of her huge success,” Talley said. “She also builds relationships with her fans and this is appealing to people all over the world.”