![]() ![]() In the battle over synchronization, Swift seems guaranteed to come out on top. But because Swift controls her publishing rights, she could ostensibly revoke a company's clearance to use her music if they try to work with Shamrock. It's much easier-and cheaper-to license from one party that controls both sides."īutler raised the possibility that Shamrock may try to turn the tables on Swift: Instead of allowing her to undercut them, they could opt to license her songs at cost, making it cheaper to acquire them from the private equity firm. "Record companies are notoriously much more expensive than the publisher would be. ![]() "If she knows how much the record companies are charging, she's going to undercut them at every opportunity," Butler said. Additionally, according to Tonya Butler, a former label executive and the current chair of Berklee's music business program, Swift will probably cut her licensees a deal. These companies all know to come to the and license the re-records, because it'll be a lot cheaper, and the artist wants that."Īd agencies and film studios interested in Swift's music will want to use her as a one-stop shop: By going to her directly, they can secure a license to both the publishing and master rights to her music in one fell swoop, as opposed to licensing the publishing rights from Swift and the master rights from Shamrock. "We have management companies that are very, very savvy in this area, and they went out to all the music supervisors at all the film and TV companies. "I have some clients who have re-recorded their big hits," LaPolt said. According to LaPolt, Swift will easily be able to convince companies to come to her when they want to license her masters instead of paying Shamrock Capital for them. In all likelihood, Swift's collaboration with, which used her re-recorded version of "Love Story" in its latest ad campaign, wasn't a one-off it was the first of countless licensing deals Swift is going to make with her re-recorded music. By recording the masters herself, it opens the door for her to do those deals directly." "Even if the current owners of the old catalog want to do some type of deal for synchronization, without her approval as a songwriter, they wouldn't be able to do it. "She has all the leverage, and all the control," Page said. Swift has always said no to licensing offers on the grounds that they would profit Braun-but now that she's cut him out of the equation, she can strike those deals herself, and take home 100 percent of the profits they reap. To license (or "synchronize") a song, you need permission from the record company who owns it and the songwriter who wrote it. ![]() She's almost inevitably going to yield that power to license her music to advertising agencies and film and TV studios, according to Guillermo Page, a former record label executive who's worked for BMG, EMI, Sony, and Universal, and who now teaches in the University of Miami's music business program. When Swift releases new versions of her old songs, she'll own both their master rights and their publishing rights, earning every penny they bring in and securing unilateral control over how they're used. (Because she wrote her own songs, she retains the rights to the lyrics, melodies, and compositions that comprise them, and she doesn't have to ask permission from or pay anyone to use them how she sees fit.) Secondly, the "re-recording restriction" in her contract with Big Machine-a standard part of any record deal, which long prohibited her from recording new versions of the songs she released through the label-has reportedly expired. Firstly, while Shamrock Capital owns the master rights to Swift's first six albums-or in other words, the sound recordings on those albums-Swift owns the publishing rights. You'd think Swift's contract with Big Machine might prevent her from re-recording her old music, but she can legally do so for two reasons, according to Dina LaPolt, an entertainment attorney who represents Steven Tyler, 21 Savage, and several other high-profile artists. But according to several industry veterans who spoke with VICE, if Swift pulls this off, she stands to make an unthinkable amount of money-and decimate the value of her old recordings in the process. What Swift is doing might seem more like an attempt to win her longstanding battle against Braun than a calculated business move. ![]()
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