Taylor Swift rereleased her hit album Fearless on Apr. 9, with re-recordings of old songs and vault tracks that have never been previously released. The new album has been dubbed Fearless (Taylor’s Version), which reflects the main reason for the rerelease.

In 2006, Swift got her start in the music industry and signed with Big Machine Records, a recording company founded by Scott Borchetta. Swift recorded and released six albums with the label, and due to a binding clause in her contract, gave Big Machine ownership of the masters of all her music. Unfortunately, this did not work well for Swift.

Big Machine was secretly sold to Ithaca Holdings in June 2019, which then had the ownership rights to Swift’s music. Ithaca Holdings, owned by Scooter Braun, offered a new contract for Swift to “earn back” her ownership. Swift refused, and thus began the conflict.

Unfortunately, Swift still doesn’t own her original masters, which is why she is re-recording. By making a new album with all the original songs, Swift can effectively strip the monetary power from her original masters. She simply needs fans to support Taylor’s Version over her original album.

Luckily, Swift has gotten that support and even then some. As Fearless (Taylor’s Version) currently resides at the #1 spot on the Billboard 200, Fearless (2008) has completely dropped out. evermore, folklore, Lover, 1989, reputation, Red and Speak Now are all still on the Billboard 200, which is the second time Swift has become one of the two female artists to have eight albums on the Billboard 200. 

In the words of Barbra Walters, “Taylor Swift is the music industry.”

In addition to her original songs, Swift has included six “From The Vault” tracks. Chart toppers like “Mr. Perfectly Fine” and “You All Over Me” featuring Maren Morris have left many questioning how they could’ve possibly been left off the original album.

Even with this new wave of content, Swift has promised her fans even more, stating that she is currently recording. Fans have been speculating about what album she will do next, with most betting on 1989 (2014). A re-recording of Wildest Dreams was recently featured in a movie trailer, so fans may not be having such wild dreams about Swift’s next release.