On November 12, Taylor Swift plans to release a re-recording of her hit 2012 album Red, this time, however, the album will be much more true to Taylor’s original vision.
Since 2018, Swift has been waging a battle against Big Machine Records in order to secure the rights to her first six albums. Sinceå leaving Big Machine records, Swift has lost the masters and the rights to perform the albums she put out while working for them.
“I think that it’s really messed up that Big Machine took her masters, and I’m really glad she’s doing Taylor’s version so she can make money off her music that she deserves,” said Emma Crum, a junior.
The lack of direct ownership of her own art outraged Swift, causing her to begin the process of painstakingly re-recording, remixing, and remastering her old music
“Swift’s actions were major for artists and musicians in the fight for rights to their art. By choosing to re-record her albums, she has created a completely new realm for artists, showing them that they can take control of the rights to their music,” said Aavyn O’Murchu, an aficionado of Swift’s music, as well as a long time fan of her work.
The world was shocked in April when Fearless (Taylor’s Version) was released, topping the charts globally almost instantly. While very similar to the original, Swift has decided to tweak the lyrics in several songs.
For example, You Belong with Me, one of Swift’s biggest hits to date, had one of its lines subtly changed. During the first verse of the original version, the lyrics are, “I’m in the room, it’s a typical Tuesday night,” while the new version goes, “I’m in my room, it’s a typical Tuesday night.”
“I like that Taylor changed the lyrics to be honest. it makes it feel more authentically her. Taylor has every right to make her feelings heard, even if it’s part of an old classic,” said Reese Kaiser, a fan of Swift’s music.
Following the warm reception of Fearless (Taylor’s Version) she immediately began work on her 2012 hit album, Red. This album contains many of Swift’s most iconic tracks such as the titular track, Red, I Knew you were Trouble, and most famous of all, We are Never Ever Getting Back Together.
“I am very excited about the re-recording of Red, as I believe that was one of her absolute best albums. One of my favorite parts of the re-recordings is that we are graced with the release of vault songs as well,” said O’Murchu.
While the date of release was originally set for November 19, Swift surprised the world again by moving the release date a week ahead of schedule to November 12. This has led to many fans speculating Swift is much further ahead in her re-recordings than initially theorized. This has further been supported when Swift re-released her hit single Wildest Dreams, from her 2014 album, 1989.