Taylor's Version: Here's why Taylor Swift is re-recording her albums

Currently travelling the world on her record-breaking Eras Tour, Taylor Swift is an artist with a huge body of work - one she's only adding to by re-recording her albums.

Since 2021 the artist has been working her way through her discography, releasing "Taylor's Version" of albums Fearless, Red and, most recently, Speak Now.

With each album corresponding to an Era, and 1989 (Taylor's Version) set to be released soon, here is why Taylor Swift has been re-recording her albums.

Why is Taylor Swift re-recording her albums?

Taylor Swift began her music career at fifteen-years-old, signing with Big Machine Records in 2005.

As with many musicians’ contracts, her record label owned the masters, or original recordings, of Swift's first six albums; even when the singer's deal expired and she moved to Universal’s Republic Records in 2018.

In her new contract she made sure to secure ownership of her future masters, updating the terms to reflect her success as an artist.

Taylor Swift directed All Too Well: The Short Film.

However, signing with a new label meant leaving behind Big Machine Records. Following Swift's departure, the company sold her masters to private-equity group Ithaca Holdings - an entity owned by Big Machine founder Scott Borchetta or Scooter Braun as he's better known.

He then sold her recordings to another company, Shamrock Holdings, for a reported $300 million in 2019.

In doing so, any money generated from streams or downloads of Taylor Swift's original albums will go straight to Braun, with nothing for Swift.

Swift publicly came out against the sale of her masters to the music executive, sharing that she had faced "incessant, manipulative bullying" at Braun's hands.

Several high profile artists including Justin Bieber (left) have reportedly left Scooter Braun's (right) management firm. Image: Lisa O'Connor/AFP

In a long post on social media site Tumblr in 2019, she shared that she found out about the sale of her masters as it was announced to the world and that Braun owning her work was her "worst case scenario".

Swift said: "For years I asked, pleaded for a chance to own my work. Instead I was given an opportunity to sign back up to Big Machine Records and ‘earn’ one album back at a time, one for every new one I turned in.

"I walked away because I knew once I signed that contract, Scott Borchetta would sell the label, thereby selling me and my future."

In order to claim back ownership of her music, Taylor Swift announced her decision to re-record her old albums in August of 2019.

What does Taylor's Version mean?

Any re-record by Swift will be marked by the label "Taylor's Version", which signals to fans which record they should listen to.

Beginning with her 2008 album, Fearless (Taylor's Version) was released in April 2021, followed by Red (Taylor's Version) in November the same year, with Speak Now (Taylor's Version) released in July 2023.

While each Taylor's Version album will bring in a significant amount of money for Swift and not Braun, they also provide Swift with the opportunity to revisit each Era and include never before heard tracks, hints and Easter eggs for fans.

Her next release will be her multi-award winning 2014 album 1989 which will take Swift past the halfway mark of her re-recording project.

Are Taylor Swift's re-recordings different than the originals?

As a whole, Swift is faithfully re-recording each album - but that doesn't mean there won't be slight differences.

Her voice now is certainly more mature than much of her older work and listeners are likely to pick up on production updates or even, in the case of Better Than Revenge, a changed lyric to better suit the times.

But overall, each album is faithful recreation with fans treated to additional "from the vault" tracks.

What does 'From the Vault' mean?

"From the Vault" tracks are songs which Taylor Swift wrote as the original albums were being created, but which ultimately did not make the cut.

They add an interesting layer to her discography, with new meanings to be found within each album as a result.

From the Vault tracks on Fearless include You All Over Me (featuring Maren Morris), Mr. Perfectly Fine, That's When (featuring Keith Urban), We Were Happy, Don't You and Bye Bye Baby.

On Red (Taylor's Version), From the Vault songs include Nothing New (featuring Phoebe Bridgers), Run (featuring Ed Sheeran), The Very First Night, Forever Winter, Babe, Message In A Bottle, I Bet You Think About Me, Better Man and All Too Well (10 Minute Version).

From the Vault on Speak Now songs are Electric Touch (featuring Fall Out Boy), When Emma Falls in Love, I Can See You, Castles Crumbling (featuring Hayley Williams), Foolish One and Timeless.

As the tracks were written during specific periods of the singer's life, certain songs caused uproar among fans such as the ten minute version of All Too Well.

All Too Well: The Short Film

Taylor Swift is known for her detailed and story-focused music videos, but to celebrate the release of Red (Taylor’s Version), she went one step further creating All Too Well: The Short Film.

Written and directed by Swift, the video stars Teen Wolf actor Dylan O’Brien and Stranger Things actress Sadie Sink alongside the singer herself.

Taylor Swift with All Too Well stars Dylan O'Brien and Sadie Sink (Pic: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)

It amassed more than 32 million views within three days of its release, winning several accolades including Best Short Film at the Hollywood Critics Association Awards and Best Music Video at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards.

When is 1989 (Taylor's Version) coming out?

1989 (Taylor's Version) will be released on October 27th 2023, and is currently available for pre-order.

The popstar's 2014 album secured ten top 10 hits upon its release, and Swift shared the project has been her favourite re-record due to the five From the Vault tracks.

Taylor Swift now has just two albums left in her re-recording project: her self-titled debut which came out in 2006 and 2017 pop record Reputation.

Taylor's Version: Why is Taylor Swift re-recording her albums?