In one of the more dramatic business developments in pop music history, Taylor Swift has purchased her catalog of recordings that were initially released through Big Machine Records, after six years of transfers and turmoil. She acquired those six albums and associated visuals from their most recent owner, Shamrock Capital, for an undisclosed nine-figure sum, a price tag that is being characterized by Swift as exceptionally fair and reasonable.

Swift wrote in a handwritten letter to fans, “To say this is my greatest dream come true is actually being pretty reserved about it.” Thanking the company that sold the rights to her, she added, “All I’ve ever wanted was the opportunity to work hard enough to be able to one day purchase my music outright with no strings attached, no partnership, with full autonomy. I will be forever grateful to everyone at Shamrock Capital for being the first people to ever offer this to me. … My first tattoo just might be a huge shamrock in the middle of my forehead.”

The singer will be reissuing her old Big Machine albums, which were first sold by Big Machine against her wishes in 2019,. But now there will be two fully authorized versions of each of those albums in the marketplace, since she’s saying the re-recorded “Taylor’s Versions” will continue to be available alongside the originals. Two of those bonus-filled editions have yet to come out, including the long-awaited “Reputation (Taylor’s Version),” and her statement declares this deal won’t keep the remaining pair of do-overs from still being released — maybe, since she also makes it clear she’s in no hurry on those now.



News of a possible sale by Shamrock to Swift was first reported by the New York Post, but a source close to the negotiations disavowed elements of that story, saying the price tag reported was grossly inflated, and that there was no involvement of Scooter Braun. His Ithaca Holdings bought the catalog in 2019 before Shamrock acquired it from him a year lat