How Much Did Taylor Swift Pay For Her Masters: The Full Story

You’ve heard the rumors, but what’s the real number? Taylor Swift finally won her masters back. We’ve got the definitive answer. Let’s dive in.

The Final Answer: The $360 Million Deal

In May 2025, after a six-year public battle, Taylor Swift regained full ownership of her original master recordings. She purchased the catalog for her first six albums—from Taylor Swift (2006) to Reputation (2017).

The seller was Shamrock Capital, a private equity firm that had owned the masters since 2020. This $360 million deal officially closed one of the most-watched and most complex ownership disputes in modern music history.

How Did We Get Here? The 2019 Sale That Started It All

The entire saga began in June 2019. Swift’s original record label, Big Machine Label Group (BMLG), was sold. The founder, Scott Borchetta, had signed her as a teenager.

The buyer was Ithaca Holdings, a company owned by prominent music manager Scooter Braun. The price for BMLG was reported to be around $300 to $330 million.

Here’s the problem: That sale included the master recordings for Swift’s entire catalog.

Swift publicly stated she was devastated and blindsided. She claimed she had tried to buy her masters for years but was never given a fair chance. Instead, her work was sold to someone she considered a personal antagonist.

This single event kicked off a global conversation. But what was actually sold?

A Quick Explainer: What Is a "Master"?

This whole fight is about one crucial word: "masters." When you listen to "Love Story" on Spotify, you are streaming the master recording.

A master is the original, finished studio recording. It's the "master" file from which all future copies are made (vinyl, CDs, and digital streams).

Under many traditional record deals, the label pays for the recording costs. In exchange, the label owns that master recording "in perpetuity," or forever. This is defined under U.S. copyright law [1].

The artist might have written the song, but the label owned the version everyone knew and loved. That’s what Braun bought, and that’s what Taylor wanted back.

The Plot Twist: The Masters Are Sold Again

The story got even more complicated just 17 months later. In November 2020, fans were shocked to learn the masters had changed hands again.

Scooter Braun sold Swift's catalog to a private equity firm, Shamrock Capital.

The price tag for this second sale was even higher. Industry sources, including Variety, reported the deal was worth up to $405 million.

At the time, Swift revealed she had attempted to negotiate with Shamrock. However, she learned that Braun would still profit from the deal. She refused to participate and announced a different plan: a brilliant, high-stakes "Plan B."

Taylor's Plan B: The Re-Recording Project

If she couldn't own the past, she would re-create it.

Swift announced she would re-record her first six albums, song by song. These new versions, dubbed "Taylor's Version," would be 100% owned by her.

This was a massive gamble. Would her global fanbase move on from the original recordings they grew up with?

The answer was a deafening "yes."

Fearless (Taylor's Version), Red (Taylor's Version), Speak Now (Taylor's Version), and 1989 (Taylor's Version) were all monumental successes. They smashed streaming records and topped charts worldwide.

She encouraged fans, filmmakers, and advertisers to "only use" the versions she owned. This move brilliantly and systematically devalued the original masters owned by Shamrock.

The Final Showdown: The 2025 Buy-Back

This brings us back to May 2025. Swift's "Taylor's Version" project was a massive success. Her "Eras Tour" had become the highest-grossing tour in history, giving her unprecedented capital and industry power.

Shamrock Capital, meanwhile, owned an asset that was rapidly losing its value and public goodwill. A deal was finally struck.

The reported $360 million purchase price is fascinating. It’s very close to Shamrock's original purchase price (which was $300M+).

This suggests Shamrock likely broke even or made a small profit from the catalog's streaming earnings over the years. But they did not get the massive payday they likely hoped for.

For Taylor Swift, it was never about profit. It was the price of freedom. She paid $360 million to reclaim her legacy. Now, she finally owns her entire body of work—both the originals and the re-records.

So, how much did Taylor Swift pay for her masters? The final bill to reclaim her past was $360 million.

It’s the conclusion to a six-year war fought with business savvy, fan loyalty, and sheer artistic will.