Taylor Swift just made a huge announcement about the future of her music
As one of the biggest stars on the planet, Taylor Swift wields immense clout in the music industry. After releasing her most recent album Reputation in November 2017, many wondered what Swift’s next move would be. And it looks like the singer is officially taking her music to a new label—and she’s also just negotiated some huge deals.
Swift’s contract with Big Machine Label Group (who she’s been with her entire career thus far) was up this November, which led to a bidding war among the biggest labels in the industry. Per Billboard, one of Swift’s main demands for prospective labelswas that she gain ownership of any new masters (the first recordings of songs). And in a November 19th Instagram post, Swift announced that her new label will officially be Republic Records and Universal Music Group. The singer revealed that under her new contract with Universal, she will own her masters, which she called “incredibly exciting.”
"It's really important to me to see eye to eye with a label regarding the future of our industry," she wrote. "I feel so motivated by new opportunities created by the streaming world and the ever changing landscape of our industry."
She also wrote that any money her new label earns through the sale of Spotify shares will be split among artists. Swift explained that this understanding “meant more to me than any other deal point.”
"I see this as a sign that we are headed towards positive change for creators—a goal I'm never going to stop trying to help achieve, in whatever ways I can," she wrote.
Scroll through the post to read Swift’s full message.
The “Look What You Made Me Do” singer has long advocated for streaming services to compensate musicians fairly. In 2014, she even pulled her music from Spotify in protest, finally allowing the company to play her music again in 2017. Swift’s new deal with Universal shows the importance of knowing your worth and standing up for yourself when it comes to business negotiations.
We’re definitely taking notes, and we can’t wait to see what Swift does under her new label.
