Taylor first announced her intention to re-record her first six albums in August 2019 after Big Machine Records – which is why the master recordings she left behind when she signed to a new label in 2018 – were taken over by Scooter Braun’s company. , Ithaca Holdings.
In a post on her Tumblr account, Taylor called the move her “ worst nightmare, ” referring to the “ incessant manipulative bullying ” she experienced from Braun and his clients, including Kanye West and Justin Bieber.
Braun’s takeover of her masters meant that every time Taylor’s music was licensed or streamed, he and his company would make a profit from it. And so, Taylor decided, she would refuse to license her original music for use in movies, TV shows, and advertisements, and instead release rerecorded versions of the albums Braun now owned in order to capitalize on any profit he had with her. work could make to minimize.