Re-Recording Era
Hallie explains the reasoning behind Taylor Swift's re-records in this informative article.
The Re-recording era
By Hallie Johnson
179 songs, 9 albums, and 3 genres. Taylor Swift has truly earned her spot as the second highest paid female artist in America. However, it has not been an easy ride. Signing her second record deal with Big Machine Records in 2005, Swift committed to six albums in exchange for a cash advance. Her fight to own her music has been long and often misunderstood. This year was a game changer.
Swift's first six albums were recorded and owned by Big Machine Records. Her album Lover, released in 2019, was her first album where she owned the music itself. Two surprise sister albums have been released since, causing fans to go wild. Suspicions of a third sister album were high, but Swift shocked everyone when she announced a re-recording of her second album, Fearless. A single from The Vault, a group of songs written for specific albums that did not make the final cut, was released before the rest of the album and stayed top of the charts for weeks. Taylor’s Version of Fearless included the original 12 songs re-recorded, and 14 new songs from The Vault. The re-release of the album was a huge success as nostalgia-plagued Swifties.
Many were confused to how and why Swift was able to re-record Fearless. This was a movement of empowerment and simple business. Swift writes all of her songs, so they are her own intellectual property. The actual physical recording of the song belongs to Big Machine Records. Swift made very little money with the original release of the album, as she had received a cash advance when she signed with the record label. Swift says,” I’m very excited about it… because I just think that artists deserve to own their own work, I just feel very passionately about that.” With the re-release of the album, she was able to keep the large percentage of the profits for herself, as many dedicated fans exclusively listen to Taylor’s version.
Symbolism is layered into everything Swift has done. Her lyrics are always poetic and deep, and she brought that style into her re-recording. Her songs stayed true to the originals, but the re-release also gave Swift a chance for small rewrites. It is written in Buzzfeed that “However, for those able to tell the difference, there are subtle improvements: Taylor's voice has obviously matured since she was 18, and the instrumentation is often crisper. There are also some additional harmonies and changing inflections that add something fresh to an album that is, after all, 13 years old.” Fans poured over songs to find all of the changes, which were brought about so brilliantly. One of her most popular songs to be released was “Love Story” on Fearless. This song has been performed at every tour so far, and is an iconic nostalgic song from the 2000s. The song refers to the young lovers as Romeo and Juliet, and the music video shows Swift as Juliet and another actor as Romeo. With the re-recorded album, the album cover shows Swift wearing Romeo’s shirt from the music video, showing she is her own person without a love interest.
Swift is known for dropping subtle hints and clues for her fans, which usually involves a lot of connections and thinking. Fans were picking apart everything Swift posted, said, and did to try to figure out which album would be re-recorded next. Many conspiracies pointed to her album 1989 being next in line, but no real evidence was given. Theories for every album were out, with people believing the ones they wanted to hear next. On June 18th of this year, Swift announced the re-release of her fourth album, Red, on November 19, 2021. Thirty songs are on the album, with 11 songs to be released from The Vault. One of the album’s most popular songs, “All Too Well”, will be getting a ten-minute long version along with the original. Swift wrote this powerful and heartbreaking song about former boyfriend and actor, Jake Gyllenhaal. Since the announcement, fans have repeatedly commented on Gyllenhaal’s posts, quoting lyrics from “All Too Well” and commenting on scarf emojis, a nod to Swift’s favorite scarf that he kept after the breakup.
Already anticipating the next re-release, fans speculate what the third album will be. Many think the albums are associated with seasons. Fearless is like a new beginning, hence the spring release. Red is letting go and moving on, therefore, an autum release. Swifties think 1989 will be coming in summer of 2022, and many have different opinions about Reputation, Speak Now, and Debut. The re-release era has fans on a whole new edge of their seats, and leaving many wondering if Swift will release new music after re-recording her beginning albums. The era that is bringing us back to the beginning may be taking us to the end.
As a smart business woman, feminist icon, thoughtful songwriter, country, pop, and alternative artist, Taylor Swift has truly defined American dream of working hard and pursuing happiness. So much more than a pop star, Swift has changed the music industry. Fans from all over anticipate November 19th, and cannot wait to support Swift with her next project.
