Taylor Swift’s old albums stream double on Spotify after catalogue deal

Taylor Swift's original recordings have witnessed a dramatic resurgence on Spotify following her announcement last Friday (May 30) that she has reclaimed ownership of her first six studio albums.

According to data shared by Spotify with The Hollywood Reporter, streaming numbers for the "Big Machine"-era albums more than doubled on May 30 compared to their average daily streams between April 1 and May 29. While Spotify did not disclose exact figures, the percentage spikes were substantial, with "Speak Now" seeing the highest increase at 430 percent.

Swift's self-titled debut album "Taylor Swift" followed with a 220 percent rise, and "Reputation", which has yet to be re-recorded as a "Taylor's Version", experienced a 175 percent jump. Meanwhile, "Fearless" climbed by 160 percent, "Red" saw a 150 percent uptick, and "1989" received a 110 percent boost in streams. 

Overall, Swift's Spotify streams surged by 40 percent on Friday (May 30), solidifying her position as one of the most-streamed artistes on the platform with over 82 million monthly listeners.

The boost comes after years of public dispute between Swift and music executive Scooter Braun, who acquired "Big Machine Records" in 2019, thereby gaining control of Swift's original masters—an arrangement the singer described as her "worst case scenario". The catalogue was later sold to Shamrock Capital, from whom Swift officially repurchased her music last week.

In a heartfelt statement shared on social media, Swift said, "I really get to say these words: All of the music I've ever made… now belongs… to me."

Before this acquisition, Swift had already released re-recorded "Taylor's Version" albums for "Fearless", "Red", "Speak Now", and "1989", each receiving critical acclaim and commercial success. However, many fans had deliberately avoided the original versions in support of Swift's mission to reclaim her art.

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Taylor Swift reclaims full ownership of her music catalogue

With the rights now back in her hands, speculation continues around the re-recording plans for "Reputation" and "Taylor Swift". While Swift confirmed that the debut album re-recording is complete, she revealed only a quarter of "Reputation" has been re-recorded thus far. She assured fans that if the remaining albums do re-emerge, it will be "a celebration" rather than an attempt to reclaim what was once lost.