Taylor Swift asks fans for help with reclaiming rights to old hits

Singer-songwriter and record producer Taylor Swift has asked her fans for help with reclaiming rights to her older music and performance footage from record executives Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta.

In a tweet sharing her long message in three image files, Swift wrote that she didn’t know what else to do.

In the message, the singer says she has been planning to perform a medley of her hits throughout the decade on the American Music Awards that recently announced they will be honoring her with the Artist of the Decade award at this year’s ceremony, which is to be held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on November 24.

But, writes Swift, Borchetta and Braun have said she is not allowed to perform her old songs on television because, according to them, that would be re-recording the singer’s music before she is allowed to next year.

Mentioning that she had not planned on revealing it like this, the songwriter writes that Netflix has created a documentary about her life for the past few years. But, Swift continues, both the record executives have also declined the use of her older music or performance footage for the project. The record producer points out that neither or Big Machine Records have any mention anywhere in the documentary.

It should be noted here that record label Big Machine Records was founded by Borchetta back in 2005 and later became the first imprint of the larger Big Machine Label Group, formed and headed-as-CEO by, again, Borchetta. Braun’s Ithaca Holdings acquired the group earlier this year, with Borchetta remaining as CEO. Taylor Swift was the first artist Big Machine Records signed. The singer has had all but one of her albums released by the label. The last album of the songstress, Lover, was released by record label Republic.

Swift writes in the message, “Scott Borchetta told my team that they’ll allow me to use my music only if I do these things: If I agree to not re-record copycat versions of my songs next year (which is something I’m both legally allowed to do and looking forward to) and also told my team that I need to stop talking about him and Scooter Braun.”

The singer goes on to state that the message being sent to her is that she should “be a good little girl and shut up.”

“This is WRONG,” writes Taylor Swift. “Neither of these men had a hand in the writing of those songs. They did nothing to create the relationship I have with my fans.”

She adds, “So this is where I am asking for your help. Please let Scott Borchetta and Scooter Braun know how you feel about this.”

The singer goes on to ask her fans to ask the artists Braun manages for help with this, adding that she hopes perhaps they can talk some sense into the two “men who are exercising tyrannical control over someone who just wants to play the music she wrote.”

Swift especially asks for help from The Carlyle Group, “who put up money for the sale of my music to these two men.”

Swift points out she has tried to work this out privately through her team, but has not been able to resolve anything.

She says she is sharing all this because she feels it “could change the awareness level for other artists and potentially help them avoid a similar fate.”

Image credit - "Taylor Swift 092" by GabboT is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0