By: Sarah Gomez, Staff Writer
As many of you may have noticed, whether through TikTok trends or ex-girlfriend’s dm, Taylor Swift has released a re-recorded version of her album Fearless. The album, first released in 2008, was Swift’s first album of the year and acts as the first of many upcoming re-recorded albums.
Fearless (Taylor’s Version) is the first of five upcoming re-recorded albums we can expect from Swift in the coming year, a sixth being eligible for re-recording next year. Swift has been working on re-recording these albums since 2019 and is rumored to be releasing her second album of the year, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) later this year.
Though at first glance this may seem like a ploy for extra money without doing any new writing, the reasoning behind Swift wanting to re-record goes beyond simply finances. Taylor Swift's first 6 albums are currently owned by Ithaca Holdings and offered to trade her masters for her first album with brand new ones. They essentially offered to give her back what belongs to her if she gave them something new of hers. Swift rightfully refused the offer, but that left her masters with Ithaca.
The solution? Though the masters belong to someone else, Swift still owns all the rights to the music itself. By re-recording her music, which she legally owns, she can regain artistic ownership over her past work. In re-recording, Swift is able to reduce the value of the original and once again own her original songs. The re-recording will not only have the re-recorded classics loved by fans but also incentives put into place to make Taylor’s version more appealing than the original.
Fearless (Taylor’s Version) was not merely the same songs recorded, but the addition of never-before-heard songs. Swift released the single “Mr. Perfectly Fine,” one of the never-before-heard songs and has seen a remarkable response both on the charts and various social platforms. The added songs were written at the same time as the rest of the album but simply did not make the initial cut. This added to the appeal of the new version, increasing the appeal through the exclusive content. These types of never-before-heard songs are going to be a common theme as Swift re-releases her remaining albums.