This year has been record-breaking for Taylor Swift, as a touring artist and now as the catalyst for contract changes by major record labels that would prevent artists from re-recording their songs.
Swift recently released a re-recorded version of her 2014 album 1989 as part of an effort by the artist to regain control of her recording masters, which are currently owned by Big Machine Records from Universal Music Group.
Other artists that have engaged in the same practice include r&b legends TLC, who released “TLC versions” of some of their most popular songs in a 2023 ep titled Wat3rfalls. Though the original versions of the songs continue to top their Spotify profile, record labels are concerned that other artists’ re-recorded songs will surpass the original versions they own.
For example, Swift’s re-recording of her album Red outperformed the original by over 900 million streams within its first six months of release. Her other re-recorded albums also outperformed the originals.
According to Billboard, this has led to major record labels changing the typical five to seven year re-recording restrictions in contracts to 10 or more years. In 2021, Universal Music Group (UMG) changed this restriction to a minimum of 10 years amid Swift’s release of two re-recorded albums.
Other labels are following suit. Gandhar Savur, an attorney for the indie rock band Cigarettes After Sex, told Billboard that an indie label recently included a “30-year re-record restriction” in a contract, which he cited as unusual.
While a 30-year re-record restriction is uncommon, music attorneys are not happy with the small changes being made by major record labels like UMG.
“The first time I saw it, I tried to get rid of it entirely,” attorney Josh Karp told Hypebeast about the UMG contract changes in 2021. “I was just like, ‘What is this? This is strange. Why would we agree to further restrictions than we’ve agreed to in the past with the same label?’”
This issue brings the conversation about the artist and label relationships to the forefront. Many artists have said that labels shackle them in one-sided contracts with artists getting the short end of the stick.
In a recent interview with Gayle King from CBS Mornings, Jay-Z said he would never sell his masters, calling his mission to obtain them the “fight of his life.” For some artists, that fight is never won.
Kreayshawn, whose single Gucci, Gucci was recently certified platinum, was baffled that her song could reach that level of success without her $800,000 debt to Sony’s music label diminishing.
Which artists would you like to see re-record their albums? Send us a tweet with your pick.