Taylor Swift finally gained ownership of her first six albums in a momentous deal she announced to the world last Friday, and with the superstar officially reunited with her music, Spotify streams on her Big Machine-era recordings quickly skyrocketed that day.
According to figures Spotify shared with The Hollywood Reporter, streams on all of the original versions of her older albums at least doubled on Friday, May 30, compared to the albums’ average daily streams from April 1 through May 29. (Spotify didn’t disclose specific streaming numbers themselves, only percentage changes.)
Speak Now had the biggest individual spike, with streams rising 430 percent globally. Interestingly, Swift’s 2006 eponymous debut and 2017’s Reputation — neither of which have a “Taylor’s Version” released yet — came in second and third, as Taylor Swift streams jumped 220 percent, while Reputation streams rose 175 percent. Fearless climbed 160 percent, Red jumped 150 percent and 1989 got a 110 percent boost. Swift is one of the most-listened-to artists on the platform with over 82 million monthly Spotify listeners, and her streams overall jumped 40 percent Friday.
Prior to announcing the purchase on Friday, Swift’s first six albums had been subject of one of the most significant controversies in recent music industry history after music executive Scooter Braun bought Swift’s old record label Big Machine in 2019, gaining ownership of Swift’s music in the process. Swift called the deal “my worst case scenario,” while citing “incessant, manipulative bullying” from Braun for years. Braun sold Swift’s music to private equity firm Shamrock Capital a year later for about as much as he spent on all of Big Machine, before Swift bought the music from Shamrock last week.
”I’ve been bursting into tears of joy at random intervals ever since I found out that this is really happening,” Swift wrote last week of purchasing the catalog. “I really get to say these words: All of the music I’ve ever made… now belongs… to me.”
Before the purchase, Swift had of course released the “Taylor’s Versions” on four of her six Big Machine albums as she sought to gain control of her musical legacy. Those versions became hits themselves, selling millions of copies and topping the album charts, while helping Swift further strengthen her own superstardom. While the original albums still garnered sales and streams, it had become a common sentiment among some of Swift’s fans not to listen to the older versions as the singer looked to win back her music rights.
But now that Swift has her music back, an interesting question becomes which albums Swifties will listen to more in the future. And with two albums left that fans were originally expecting “Taylor’s Versions” for, fans are still asking what’s next. In announcing the acquisition last week, Swift had revealed that she’d only re-recorded less than a quarter of Reputation, though she confirmed that she’s already completed the re-recording of her debut record.
“Those 2 albums can still have their moments to re-emerge when the time is right, if that would be something you guys would be excited about,” Swift wrote on Friday. “But if it happens, it won’t be from a place of sadness and longing for what I wish I could have. It will just be a celebration now.”
