Larry Iser recently penned an exclusive op-ed for Music Business Worldwide that examines Taylor Swift’s success in re-recording her older albums and dubbing them “Taylor’s Version(s)” after her masters were sold by one of Scooter Braun’s entities.
Larry explains how the pop star was able to execute this re-recording strategy from a legal standpoint, as well as how her public feud with Scooter Braun fueled fans to support “Taylor’s Version(s)”.
“While Taylor doesn’t own the copyrights to her six original sound recording albums, she retained copyright ownership of the songs themselves (the melody and the lyrics), known in the music business as ‘publishing rights,’” Larry explained. “The copyright in her songs is separate from the copyright in the recordings of those songs, and it is Taylor’s copyright in the songs she composed that allows her to make new recordings of her compositions, or to perform her songs live in concert or to sell merchandise containing her lyrics.”
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