On March 16, singer-songwriter Taylor Swift released four re-recorded songs as part of her endeavor to recreate most of her discography. 

Two of the re-recorded songs, “Eyes Open (Taylor’s Version)” and “Safe and Sound (Taylor’s Version)” starred in the book and movie series “The Hunger Games.” Netflix recently added the series back to their platform, attributing Swift’s decision of placing the songs under her album “Red” due to its increased popularity.

The two other songs Swift re-recorded are “If This Was A Movie (Taylor’s Version)” and “All Of The Girls You Loved Before.” Swift released the songs as singles rather than adding them to existing albums.

According to Swift’s Instagram story, she released the four songs in preparation for her upcoming Era’s Tour. Swift released the four songs at midnight, a move that mirrors her recent album “Midnights.” The first show of the tour started on March 17 in Glendale, Ariz. — just one day after the announcement. 

Swift has produced 10 albums, six of which were released under Big Machine Records. When Scooter Braun bought Big Machine Records in 2019, he gained ownership of Swift’s mastership or original recordings of her songs. Braun sold the masters of Swift’s songs to a private equity company in 2020; though they own the masters, the deal still gives Braun the ability to profit from Swift’s old music for years. Before selling to the private equity firm, the record company attempted to negotiate with Swift to return the masters, but the opportunity cost of agreeing hindered the deal. While Swift owns the compositions of all her songs, she does not own the acquisition of them. 

Following Braun’s deal with the private equity firm, Swift re-recorded all her old songs that remain under the record labels domain; with this, she can officially own them as “(Taylor’s Version).” 

Fans anticipate the full re-recording of Swift’s album “Speak Now” and many speculate it as the next release. Overall, many fans support the release of “(Taylor’s Version)” as they allow her to own the rights to her music.