Taylor Swift's Re-recordings Capture Listeners

Peyton Dotton '24 ~ November 2021

In 2012, Taylor Swift wrote her fourth album, Red, with hits such as “All Too Well,” “Red,” “22,” and “I Knew You Were Trouble.” Red is considered one of Taylor’s last country albums. Fans claim that Red captures Taylors feelings of heartbreak toward her ex-boyfriend, Jake Gyllenhaal (Spider-Man: Far from Home).

Taylor Swift did not own any of her music until 2019.

According to i News, “Ms. Swift's first six albums, released between 2006 and 2017, are currently owned by a private equity firm called Shamrock Holdings. Mr. Braun sold the master recordings in November 2020, in what Ms. Swift said was ‘the second time my music had been sold without my knowledge.’ ”

In April 2021, she released Fearless (Taylor’s Version). In doing this, Taylor Swift now has full ownership over the re-recording of her album.

On Nov. 12, 2021, she released the re-recording of Red, also known as Red (Taylor’s Version). This new version includes songs that were not previously included in the album, songs she had sold to other artists after she wrote them, and a fan favorite: the ten-minute version of “All Too Well.”

Later that night, Taylor Swift released the “All Too Well” short film starring Dylan O’Brien (Love and Monsters) and Sadie Sink (Stranger Things). Fans were invited to her premiere of the short film that Swift, O’Brien, and Sink all attended.

Swift broke records in a matter of hours on all platforms.

Spotify wrote on Twitter: “On Friday, November 12th, Taylor Swift’s Red (Taylor’s Version) broke the record for the most-streamed album in a day by a female, and Taylor broke the record for the most-streamed female in a day in Spotify history. We’ll remember this day in history all too well, Congratulations @taylorswift13.”

Title Photo: "Taylor Swift" by Eva Rinaldi, Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0