Taylor Swift Reveals She Isn't Releasing 'Reputation (Her Version)'—Because She Bought Her Masters Back

There isn't going to be a Reputation (Taylor's Version). There will be a meaningful, heartfelt explanation from Taylor Swift herself.

After returning to New York City on Thursday, May 29, the Grammy-winner shared an open letter with fans on Friday, May 30, revealing that she had successfully purchased her masters. The deal includes the original recordings for her first six albums—Taylor Swift (2006), Fearless (2008), Speak Now (2010), Red (2012), 1989 (2014), and Reputation (2017)—as well as the accompanying music videos and imagery. Swift did not disclose the financial terms of the deal, though sources told Billboard it amounted to a nearly $360 million purchase brokered with Shamrock Capital, the second owner of her masters.

Swift did, however, open up about the emotional toll of the purchase in a lengthy letter shared to her website. It was accompanied by photos of the star wearing a polo sweater and symbolic Evil Eye diamond ring, holding vinyls of her first six albums.

"To say this is my biggest dream come true is actually being pretty reserved about it," she wrote. "I've been bursting into tears of joy at random intervals ever since I found out that this is really happening."

Swift began meticulously re-recording and re-releasing her earliest work under the label "Taylor's Version" in 2021. The ambitious project began after her masters were sold without her consent to Scooter Braun's Ithaca Holdings in late 2020. She first released the new version of Fearless in 2021, followed by Red, Speak Now, and 1989.

When Swift changed record labels in 2019, moving from Big Machine to Republic Records, she negotiated the rights to all her new work moving forward. That includes 2019's Lover and 2024's blockbuster The Tortured Poets Department.

The Taylor's Version albums were in part a catalyst for her record-breaking Eras Tour, which recapped each musical "era" she had experienced over the course of her journey from country to pop. Two of the re-records were released to fanfare—and record sales outpacing with the originals—during the tour itself. The Eras Tour's retrospective setlist compelled fans to purchase more than $2 billion in ticket sales to support their favorite star.

Fans had anticipated Swift would complete the re-recording project even after her tour concluded in December 2024. (Swift's red carpets and casual fashion moments through last weekend's 2025 American Music Awards were heavily scrutinized, as fans searched for clues about album release dates.) However, she noted in her open letter that second renditions of Reputation were not even a quarter of the way complete. She said that the originals couldn't be improved, and accessing the place she had been when she first wrote the album was a challenge.

"There will be a time (if you’re into the idea) for the unreleased Vault tracks from that album to hatch," she added. "I’ve already completely re-recorded my entire debut album, and I really love how it sounds now. Those 2 albums can still have their moments to re-emerge when the time is right, if that would be something you guys would be excited about. But if it happens, it won’t be from a place of sadness and longing for what I wish I could have. It will just be a celebration now."

Swift reiterated that she is elated to once again own her life's work—and that her fight for artists' rights has inspired other musicians to broker deals that give them ownership of their masters.

"I really get to say these words: All of the music I’ve ever made… now belongs to me. All of my music videos. All the concert films. The album art and photography. The unreleased songs. The memories. The magic. The madness. Every single era," she said. "My entire life’s work."

Read Taylor Swift's entire letter to fans, originally shared on TaylorSwift.com, below.

Hi,

I’m trying to gather my thoughts into something coherent, but right now my mind is just a slideshow. A flashback sequence of all the times I daydreamed about, wished for, and pined away for a chance to get to tell you this news. All the times I was thiiiiiiiis close, reaching out for it, only for it to fall through. I almost stopped thinking it could ever happen, after 20 years of having the carrot dangled and then yanked away. But that’s all in the past now. I’ve been bursting into tears of joy at random intervals ever since I found out that this is really happening. I really get to say these words:

All of the music I’ve ever made… now belongs… to me.

And all my music videos.All the concert films.The album art and photography.The unreleased songs.The memories. The magic. The madness.Every single era.My entire life’s work.

To say this is my greatest dream come true is actually being pretty reserved about it. To my fans, you know how important this has been to me — so much so that I meticulously re-recorded and released four of my albums, calling them Taylor’s Version. The passionate support you showed those albums and the success story you turned The Eras Tour into is why I was able to buy back my music. I can’t thank you enough for helping to reunite me with this art that I have dedicated my life to, but have never owned until now.

All I’ve ever wanted was the opportunity to work hard enough to be able to one day purchase my music outright with no strings attached, no partnership, with full autonomy. I will be forever grateful to everyone at Shamrock Capital for being the first people to ever offer this to me. The way they’ve handled every interaction we’ve had has been honest, fair, and respectful. This was a business deal to them, but I really felt like they saw it for what it was to me: My memories and my sweat and my handwriting and my decades of dreams. I am endlessly thankful. My first tattoo might just be a huge shamrock in the middle of my forehead.

I know, I know. What about Rep TV? Full transparency: I haven’t even re-recorded a quarter of it. The Reputation album was so specific to that time in my life, and I kept hitting a stopping point when I tried to remake it. All that defiance, that longing to be understood while feeling purposely misunderstood, that desperate hope, that shame-born snarl and mischief. To be perfectly honest, it’s the one album in the first 6 that I thought couldn’t be improved upon by redoing it. Not the music, or photos, or videos. So I kept putting it off. There will be a time (if you’re into the idea) for the unreleased Vault tracks from that album to hatch. I’ve already completely re-recorded my entire debut album, and I really love how it sounds now. Those 2 albums can still have their moments to re-emerge when the time is right, if that would be something you guys would be excited about. But if it happens, it won’t be from a place of sadness and longing for what I wish I could have. It will just be a celebration now.

I’m extremely heartened by the conversations this saga has reignited within my industry among artists and fans. Every time a new artist tells me they negotiated to own their master recordings in their record contract because of this fight, I’m reminded of how important it was for all of this to happen. Thank you for being curious about something that used to be thought of as too industry-centric for broad discussion. You’ll never know how much it means to me that you cared. Every single bit of it counted and ended us up here.

Thanks to you and your goodwill, teamwork and encouragement, the best things that have ever been mine… finally actually are.

Elated and amazed,

Taylor

This is a developing story. Marie Claire will continue updating it as more information regarding Taylor Swift's purchase of her masters is announced.