Taylor Swift’s Catalog Surges After Masters Purchase

Taylor Swift announced last Friday she had purchased the master recordings of her first six albums from Shamrock Capital, ending a high-profile dispute that began in 2019 when Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings acquired her catalog from Big Machine Records for approximately $330 million. 

The acquisition, which Swift said fulfilled her “greatest dream,” included her music videos, concert films, album art, photography, and unreleased songs, giving her full control over her work for the first time. Sources estimate Swift paid around $360 million, close to what Shamrock paid Braun in 2020, though earlier rumors of a $600 million to $1 billion price tag were inaccurate.

The announcement sparked a massive response from fans, driving significant gains across Swift’s catalog. According to preliminary Luminate data, U.S. activity for her entire catalog—spanning her Big Machine albums (Taylor Swift, Fearless, Speak Now, Red, 1989, Reputation) and subsequent Republic Records releases—jumped to an average of nearly 35,000 album consumption units on May 30 and 31, a 55.1% to 72.3% increase from the prior 12-day average of 20,000 units.  Saturday’s numbers outpaced Friday’s as fan excitement grew.

Key Metrics:

• Album Downloads: The biggest surge came in digital album downloads, soaring from an average of just over 100 units daily to over 5,000, a 3,520.6% increase.
• Physical Albums: Sales averaged just over 4,000 copies over the two days, up 153.2% from under 2,000 in the prior period.
• Streaming: Swift’s catalog averaged 32.91 million streams on May 30–31, a 35.6% rise from the 24.26 million daily average in the preceding 12 days. Spotify streams for her first six albums saw dramatic spikes, with Speak Now up 430%, Taylor Swift up 220%, Reputation up 175%, Fearless up 160%, Red up 150%, and 1989 up 110%. Notably, “Better Than Revenge” from Speak Now surged over 600% to 313,208 streams on May 31.
• Radio Airplay: Radio spins increased by 2.2%, adding to the roughly 3,000 daily plays her catalog received before the announcement.

The original Big Machine albums led the gains, though her re-recorded “Taylor’s Version” albums and newer releases like Lover, Folklore, Evermore, Midnights, and The Tortured Poets Department also saw boosts.