Taylor Swift, one of the most famous
singers in the world right now, recent winner of the coveted Artist of the
Decade award from the American Music Awards, and by all accounts a modern
legend does not own her own music. The story
was everywhere: Scooter Braun, manager of singers like Justin Bieber, Ariana
Grande, Demi Lovato, and more, bought out Taylor’s old record label, Big
Machine, and with it, the rights to her Master’s.
On a post to Tumblr, Taylor wrote
concerning the situation: “For years I asked, pleaded for a chance to own my
work. Instead I was given an opportunity to … ‘earn’ one album back at a time.”
Taylor says she refused this offer and decided to start fresh instead of being
stuck in the same cycle. She states that she “knew Scott Borchetta [owner of
Big Machine Records] would sell the label, thereby selling [her] and [her]
future.” She claims that Scott selling her masters to Scooter is her “worst
case scenario.” Taylor says that Scott knew about her anger and resentment
towards Scooter and did this on purpose to spite her.
Scott Borchetta, on the other hand,
claims that he let her know in advance of the sale and tried to keep things as
civil as possible. He leans into the business side of the music industry in his
response and posted part of a deal they offered Taylor asking for ten more
years with Big Machine and during that period she would earn back her music. He
states that “Taylor had every chance in the world to own … her master
recordings.” Scott claims that her dad was aware of the transaction deal and
that any lack of communication between the two was not the fault of him or Big
Machine.
Taylor’s dad owns a portion of Big
Machine Label Group from back in 2004 when a 14-year-old Taylor Swift signed
with the startup label. He bought shares of the company in order to sit in on
meetings where his underage daughter would be surrounded by adult men. Her dad,
Scott Swift, also did this in order to help boost her career. This concept of
having her father there in the country scene to ensure she would not be taken
advantage of is similar to the idea of coverture. Coverture is an old term of
when a woman is under the protection of her father until she is married and
then becomes under the protection of her husband. In this case, Taylor’s
masters were “covered” by Scott Borchetta, a man her father had a hand in
picking with her. Until the day they were sold to another man, Scooter Braun
who should protect her. This is similar to an example of a worst-case-scenario-marriage.
Taylor’s masters would be her dowry and her father entrusted them to Scott
Borchetta who sold her and her life’s work out to another man who now controls all
her music up until 2018.
Understanding the principle of
coverture is important when it comes to the Taylor Swift/Scooter Braun
situation because of the unique circumstance of her dad’s shares in Big
Machine. Historically, women have always had to be covered by men (their
husbands and fathers) legally, creatively, etc. Taylor’s situation is a modern
version of that, and her “worst-case scenario” is that she does not own her
work and that a man she claims has tried to sabotage her now figuratively owns
her.
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