“When I hear her older songs on the albums she has re-released it brings back my childhood memories of all my friends dancing in the driveway to Taylor Swift and life is good. The fact that she is now re-releasing all those songs, I can’t wait to relive the good ole days,” junior Katie Bejian said.

     On Nov. 12, Taylor Swift released a re-recording of her 2012 album “Red”, titled “Red (Taylor’s Version)”. The re-recorded album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)”debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the longest song to be at the No. 1 spot. 

     “I think ‘All Too Well (10 Minute Version)’ is definitely my favorite off of “Red (Taylor’s Version)” because I remember loving the original of the song and hearing what it was originally supposed to be just makes it even better,” senior Sydney Frye said. 

      Why is Swift re-recording her old albums? A fresh-faced singer with a guitar and long blond hair., Swift signed to Big Machine Records in 2005. When her deal was up, she switched labels to Universal’s Republic Records although Big Machine still owned her first six albums. In her new contract, Swift made sure to secure ownership of her future masters. 

     “I think that’s it’s very significant that she’s paving her own path with her music. Just the fact that she can do this and now personally owns her own music is so great,”Frye said. 

    Swift re-recording her albums means that she will be creating new masters, those that she will have full ownership of. This move, in no way, guarantees that the original versions of her albums, those owned by the company Shamrock Holdings, will cease to exist. 

        Shamrock Holdings will continue to own, use, and earn revenue on these songs through streaming platforms and sampling, many other uses that do not require synchronization licenses. 

     Furthermore, in the case that Swift declines the usage of her re-recorded music, individuals are open to approach Shamrock Holdings for the use of her masters. However, what the re-recorded albums have achieved, and will continue to achieve, as admitted by Swift, is to “diminish the value” of her old masters since she now has ownership of the music she wrote. 

     “I think her re-releasing her old albums is really important because she gets to take credit for all of her successes,”senior Emma Zorn said.

     Not much is different from her re-recordings to their original versions—with some subtle production updates, and the newfound maturity in her voice that an extra decade has provided. Swift is also sharing a number of new tracks from what she calls her “vault.”

    “It is amazing that she’s releasing songs from the vault! My favorites are  ‘Girl at Home’ and ‘The moment I knew’ because they mean the most to me and I have many memories attached to those songs,” Zorn said.

        Legally, Swift’s course of action is not airtight since she is still fighting a legal battle over her music.  However, her fight against Scooter Braun is a vital reminder of caution to young artists who often falter in protecting themselves from critical clauses while signing record deals. 

    “I think Taylor inspires so many young artists because she has overcome challenges in her career , and honestly everyone and I think she will continue to do that over the course of her career,” Bejian said.

      Swift’s re-recordings mark the fortification of a recurring message that she has advocated to young artists throughout her incredible music career: “You deserve to own the art you make.”