Taylor Swift: How many more streams did Taylor's Version have over her newly acquired original masters?

• Swifties have been celebrating over the weekend after news broke that Taylor Swift now owns the masters to her first six records.
• The deal also sees videos, concert films, album art, photography, unreleased songs from those albums now in Swift’s ownership.
• So, did the practice of releasing 'Taylor's Versions' lead to a drop in revenue for the firm due to dwindling streaming returns?

After years of acrimony and re-recording albums to devalue the original masters, Taylor Swift is now the owner of her original recordings.

An announcement was made last week (May 30) that the 1989 and Reputation singer had bought the rights to the masters of her original six albums from Shamrock Capital, who acquired the recordings in a deal with Scooter Braun's Ithaca Holdings in 2020.

However, the original deal was structured to ensure that Braun (and Ithaca Holdings) would continue to profit from her old musical catalogue for many years. This profit stream for Braun was a major point of contention for Taylor Swift and fuelled her determination to pursue her re-recordings.

Consequently, Swift initially declined an offer from Shamrock to partner, stating that Braun's continued financial participation was a 'non-starter' for her. She expressed that she couldn't 'in good conscience bring myself to be involved in benefiting Scooter Braun's interests.'

But after several years and back-and-forth, coupled with the successes of Taylor’s Versions, the singer bought back the rights for an estimated $300 million to $360 million. This was a direct purchase deal, rather than 'earning back' the rights to the previous works through new album sales.

Crediting her fanbase after her victory, Swift stated that she still intends to release the re-recorded versions of her debut album and Reputation, but 'from a place of celebration now.'

So, how much of an effect did Taylor’s Versions have on the original Big Red Machine recordings, and was it enough to force the hand of Shamrock Capital and, by proxy, Scooter Braun?

Did Taylor’s Versions earn more streams than her original albums in the end?

To compare Taylor Swift’s original recordings with her new Taylor’s Versions, we analysed Spotify streaming statistics provided by Kworb.

We specifically cross-referenced releases that are available on streaming services, encompassing both sets of recordings from her battle for the masters.

Fearless

• Original (Main Version): Fearless - 2,961,959,672 streams
• Taylor's Version: Fearless (Taylor's Version) - 4,961,308,265 streams
• Difference: +2.00 Billion streams

Red

• Original (Main Version): Red (Deluxe Edition) - 3,746,587,693 streams
• Taylor's Version: Red (Taylor's Version) - 6,304,100,156 streams
• Difference: +2.56 Billion streams

Speak Now

• Original (Main Version): Speak Now (Deluxe Package) - 3,557,666,436 streams
• Taylor's Version: Speak Now (Taylor's Version) - 3,286,728,208 streams
• Difference: -0.27 Billion streams

1989

• Original (Main Version): 1989 (Deluxe) - 9,130,478,775 streams
• Taylor's Version: 1989 (Taylor's Version) - 5,252,299,630 streams
• Difference: -3.88 Billion streams

Why hasn’t the Taylor’s Version of 1989 or Speak Now eclipsed the original versions?

There are a couple of key reasons why 1989 (Taylor's Version) and Speak Now (Taylor's Version) haven't yet surpassed the streaming levels of their original counterparts.

One of the biggest reasons stems from their respective release dates: 1989 (Taylor's Version) and Speak Now (Taylor's Version) debuted in 2023, while their original releases came out in 2014 and 2010, respectively.

As two massively popular albums that appeared on countless playlists, the original master recordings have a significant advantage in cumulative streams due to their longer time on the market – for now, at least.

For years, the original versions of these mega-hits were the only ones available for streaming, and so they likely reside in countless user-created playlists, curated Spotify playlists, and are the versions people naturally sought out for a very long time.

The albums that haven't been eclipsed yet are simply fighting against a longer history of accumulated streams and the immense, enduring popularity that their original versions cultivated over years in a heavily streaming-dominated era.

Given time and continued fan support, it's very possible that Speak Now (Taylor's Version) and 1989 (Taylor's Version) will eventually surpass their original counterparts in total streams, as part of Swift's strategy to re-release her music now that she owns her masters.

Did you add the newer versions of Taylor Swift’s catalogue to your playlists when they were released, or are you still using the original album versions? Let us know your thoughts on the sale and what you think Taylor will do next by leaving a comment down below.