So love, hate, or meh on Taylor Swift's music...... O+->

baimun said:
As a Prince fan, I'm really intrigued with her journey through the pop world and what her current level of fame (and money) has allowed her to do do with her master recordings, controlling her musical legacy, and ultimately bringing the the ownership rights of songwriting and performance to the minds of current and future musicians. Her fans also backed her in the idea of "Her" versions of recordings versus the studio owned "stolen" versions.

To this day, many people don't realize that Prince changing his name to an unpronounceable symbol was not from vanity or a publicity stunt... but was driven by disputes with Warner Brothers who told him that they not only owned his masters, but his birth name and publishing rights over his likeness.

298578


After "Diamonds and Pearls" the "Love Symbol" album as it became known by was released... quickly followed by a Warner album called "Come", and the released - recalled - and eventually re-released "Black Album".

Ironically... the Black Album contains some of the funkiest shit Prince ever recorded after some music critics who thought that "Sign O'the Times" (my personal favorite album) "wasn't funky enough" (?).... so he made this album of funk and hip-hop bangers to silence his critics. The album was temporarily recalled partially due to Prince actually feeling the album was too dark and didn't reflect his current feelings of the world. I love these albums because even when they're fictional stories about fictional people, they reflect many of the struggles going on his his personal life, struggles with the record label, and struggles with the media and fame.



Which returns me to my comments on Taylor Swift....

6618.jpg


When she decided to revisit all of these different eras of her life, re-record and re-release all of these albums with the hopes that her fans would back her version and essentially neuter some of the value of the original masters not owned by her, and then go out on this record breaking tour that features the songs and imagery from those eras, it was a gamble.

But the gamble paid off.

It made her the money to buy back those master recordings and now she has her entire catalogue of work.

I expect this new album that she is going to be releasing to be a joyful celebration of not just where she is in her career and in life... but of not being someone's wind up monkey, but owning the stage and her music.

4475de86ede96fbe99247362dfd893de


I can't help but think of the reportedly 5,000-6,000 completed recordings, masters, and music videos that Prince preserved in his vault.... and how it connects to this landmark moment in music. :baimun:

vault-entrance.jpg
Click to expand...

While Prince is often lauded for his lead guitar prowess, (and he is very good), I think he had far more skills as a funk rhythm guitarist. Perfect pocket, perfect parts, and perfect tone for the genre.
 
jp_nyc said:
We are going to a music of Taylor Swift laser light show at the planetarium in a few hours. It won’t be as cool as the Tool show was but it should still be fun.
Click to expand...
RUSH 2112 was first and only laser show at the planetarium.
So epic, I have no need for anything else in that realm.
 
Taylor Swift is good at what she does. I’m glad she’s making a new record without the wishy washy over exposed Anton Jackoff sound and doing a tight 12-song LP as her output has gotten a little rangey/shaggy on recent album cycles.

Her career is basically Bruce Springsteen but for millennial women. Which isn’t a dig. She’s really connected with an audience and has developed a whole universe around her work ethic. 1989 is a killer LP and there’s a lot to like in her catalog.
 
dodgechargerfan said:
RUSH 2112 was first and only laser show at the planetarium.
So epic, I have no need for anything else in that realm.
Click to expand...
Same here. At the Griffith Observatory.
Rubble Without a Cause.
OIP-1.jpeg

This song was on the radio when we got in the car after my wife went in to labor with our Son.

I've been in Candyland since that night. Candice/Andy/Landon
 
Last edited:
baimun said:
Interesting question.... according to Google (but notice many artists only own albums past a certain point):

  1. Taylor Swift - She renegotiated her contract with her record label, so that she could gain ownership of her masters. She owns her most recent work beginning with her seventh studio album, Lover. She also re-recorded (and plans to re-record) her first six albums so that she will be able to own the new masters.
  2. Beyoncé - She bought her back catalog from her record label, and has released her recent work under her own label starting with her sixth studio album, Lemonade. Along with that, she has licensed her masters to her label, while maintaining ownership.
  3. Rihanna - Similar to Beyoncé, she also bought her back catalog from her record label, and has released her recent work under her own label starting with her eighth studio album, Anti.
  4. Jonas Brothers - They bought their back catalog from their previous record labels, and has renegotiated their contract with their current record label to allow them to license the masters, while at the same time, maintain the band’s ownership of them.
  5. Dua Lipa - Just like the Jonas Brothers, she renegotiated her contract to license her work to her label, while maintaining ownership of her masters.
  6. Olivia Rodrigo - Just like the previous two, Olivia has also renegotiated her contract to license her masters to her label, while maintaining ownership.
  7. JoJo - She releases her music under her own label now. She also re-recorded her first two albums so that she can own the new masters.
  8. Victoria Justice - She releases her music independently now.
  9. Chance The Rapper - he releases his music independently.
  10. Ciara - Just like JoJo, she also releases her music under her own label now.
  11. Iggy Azalea - Just like JoJo and Ciara, she also releases her music under her own label now.
  12. Selena Gomez - She has licensed her recent work to her record label, while maintaining ownership of the masters.
  13. Mariah Carey - She owns the masters to the Glitter soundtrack after the record label who distributed the album bought her out of the contract. She also owns the masters to Mariah Carey’s Magical Christmas with it being exclusively licensed to the label who distributed it.
  14. Lana Del Rey - She also licensed her masters to her label while maintaining ownership.
  15. Frank Ocean - He bought his back catalog and is currently releasing his most recent work under his own label.
  16. Jay-Z - When he became the president of his record label, he changed the ownership of his masters to himself.
  17. Anita Baker - She was able to regain ownership of her masters after winning a legal battle against her record label.
  18. Kylie Minogue - She also licensed her masters to her label while maintaining ownership.
  19. Adele - It’s rumored that she bought her back catalog. However, it seems that she owns the masters to her fourth studio album, 30, under exclusive license to her label.
  20. Metallica - Metallica owns the master recordings for their entire discography, including all music and long-form videos. This was achieved through a renegotiated joint venture agreement with Warner Music Group in 1994, where ownership of the masters reverted to the band on November 30, 2012. This gave them 100% control and allowed them to form their own label, Blackened Recordings. Win casino gaming world
Click to expand...
That’s a pretty interesting list - funny how most of them only got control after they were already huge. Makes Swift’s approach with the re-recordings feel a bit more aggressive, but clearly it worked.
 
HenryStratton said:
That’s a pretty interesting list - funny how most of them only got control after they were already huge. Makes Swift’s approach with the re-recordings feel a bit more aggressive, but clearly it worked.
Click to expand...

Artists owning their music is a topic I've paid attention to because my favorite artist growing up, Prince, had so many struggles with it... along side how many rock artists would have gold and platinum records and be flat broke. They made a ton of money for the record company who in turn fucked them over... some for the majority of their career.

Here's a particularly egregious example.... Aldo Nova.

 
So many artists are terrible at the business side, often giving that responsibility to their manager do deal with, and many have paid a high price for that. Elvis is a perfect example of that. The lure of a contract with a high dollar amount blinds them to what could be available with moderate success.

Prince was smart enough to know what really mattered. This thread reminds me of this clip from the tonight show from way back when...

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top