Taylor swift and white girlboss feminism are frequently heard in the same sentence, but now she successfully has bought her music after 20 years of not owing the masters, it provides a new lens to look at her contributions to feminism.
On Friday, Taylor announced in a happy letter to fans on her website, that she officially bought back her master’s, meaning she now owns every single one of her songs and albums. It’s a historic and personal victory. After years of fighting for her creative autonomy, first through a bold re-recording project and now through a massive financial investment, Taylor has finally reclaimed ownership of her life’s work.
Since 2020, Taylor has been re-recording and re-releasing four of her earlier albums. These “Taylor’s Versions” were enthusiastically embraced by fans and broke records, with some even topping the Billboard album charts years, which 10 years after their original release is not only unheard of, but very impressive. The project’s cultural and commercial success helped fuel the Eras Tour, as the reflections on her old work were so successful, she wanted to revisit everything in one show. It was one of the biggest events of last year and became the highest-grossing tour in history.
But this project did not come without its critics, as many things with Taylor tend to. Some argued that the re-recordings were less about artistic justice and more about profit, a cleverly packaged cash grab wrapped in the language of feminist resistance. With Taylor joining the billionaire ranks, thanks in part to these re-releases, questions emerged: Was this a genuine reclaiming of autonomy, or a shrewd expansion of her personal empire, driven by a savvy understanding of market loyalty?
Taylor has been closely linked to feminism throughout her career, as she has spoken out about the misogyny she has faced in her time in the industry, as she has been relentlessly asked about her love life, whether she makes her own music and been criticised about her body throughout her life. Her 2020 Netflix documentary Miss Americana highlighted her decision to publicly support a Democratic candidate during the U.S. midterms, despite resistance from her management team and her family. More recently, she reaffirmed her political alignment by voicing support for Kamala Harris in the 2024 election.
To some, this positioned Taylor as a feminist willing to speak out, but others feel she only speaks about feminist issues that affect her. Taylors feminism has been repeatedly criticised as being ‘girlboss feminism’ and only benefitting herself. Girlboss feminism is a brand of empowerment that centers individual success, often within the framework of capitalist gain, which aligns with the common critiques of Taylor.
Many theorists define neoliberalism as framing individuals, especially women, as already free agents, capable of choosing their destinies through rational decisions in the marketplace. Within this framework, freedom is no longer a collective struggle against structural oppression, but a personal brand built through smart consumption and calculated success.
Taylor’s re-recording project can be viewed through this lens.
Fans are under no obligation to buy five different versions of 1989 (Taylor’s Version), but many do, driven by loyalty, collectibility, and a fan ideology to support Taylor in her. There is nothing wrong with this from fans, as it shows the loyalty and love that many have for any of their favourite artists, but it does open for more criticism for Taylor.
Dr Jessica Ford, feminist scholar and Senior Lecturer in Media at the University of Adelaide said: “Often the Taylor’s version project is cast in sort of feminist terms, in a kind of reclaiming of her voice, reclaiming of her masters, reclaiming of her songs. And there is definitely that story to be told. But there’s also a, you know, an economic story to be told that she’s wielded her immense institutional and systemic power in order to ensure that she retains an economic stake in these songs through the project of re-recording.
“Her claim to feminism, her claim to a feminist identity is very much tied to this kind of moment of her being perceived, her perception that she was being wronged by the media.”
With the long wait between 1989 (Taylor’s Version) and the expected Reputation (Taylor’s Version), fans were starting to think the long build up was to try and break the internet, and get as much viral and monetary attraction as possible.
The notion of ‘global mother feminism’ suggests that “white women have positioned themselves as enviable figures because of their performativity of morality, which only drives the divisions between them and those they’ve othered.”
Some argue that this notion can be applied to the economics surrounding Taylors re-recordings. While fans don’t have to buy all of her new music merch and vinyls, a lot of them want to, as they see them as collectable items for their favourite artist. But with every release coming with a specific, exclusive cardigan, it can be understood why people were critical of taylors intentions, seeing it as having ‘girlboss’ tendencies.
But with the purchase of her music, all of these critiques and theories have been dispelled. Taylor has solidified her true intentions all along, which she had been clear about from the beginning, but people love to hate. Although Taylor has stated that she has enjoyed going back through her music catalogue and reflecting and improving on her own work, it’s never what she wanted to do. The picture of pure joy on her face when she announced she repurchased them said everything. Her life’s work had been stripped from her, not hers to keep. It wasn’t for money, I don’t believe she ever cared for how much the re-recordings made her. The only reason she cares, was to have the funds to repurchase.
It is rumored that Taylor had to spend £300 million to own her masters, not something that is an easy drop. But more importantly for Taylor however, the purchase came with no strings, meaning she is still a free artist, tied into no deals, any music she makes in the future will be hers, and anything achieved by her old masters will now, for the first time in their existence, belong to Taylor. Taylor has reportedly been offered the opportunity to buy her masters in the past, but it came with deals that would leave her with potentially less freedom than she had in the first place, highlighting continuing restriction on women and their own achievements.
For Taylor, this project was never about money, she stated on many occasions that this work work important to her, but didn’t expect it to be important to others, although grateful so many people were supportive. Taylor could have kept going on her re-recordings, made even more money from them and then bought them all out. But that is never what it was about for her. For 20 years, Taylor was not given the opportunity to freely own her work, which says more about feminism than her rerecording them ever did.
More importantly, Taylor’s very public fight over ownership has helped normalize the conversation about artists’ rights. She used her platform to draw attention to the limitations imposed on creators, especially women. While she had the resources to win this fight, many others don’t. Taylor’s journey, though undeniably shaped by privilege, has laid groundwork for broader conversations about equity in the music industry.
Taylor Swift’s feminism may still carry girlboss undertones, but to reduce her re-recording project to that alone would miss the deeper resonance of her actions. She proves that commercial success and personal empowerment can coexist, but not without friction or critique. In reclaiming her masters, she’s done more than prove a point, she’s reshaped the rules of the game.
This was not merely about money. It was about principle, ownership, and the belief that art and artists deserve full autonomy.
She was committed, and if she had never bought them back, at least she had a version of them that belonged to her, that her fans could choose to support. But she fought for the memories and soul that are irreplaceably found in the masters, and along the way taught everyone the value of reflecting on your own work and achievements, and working towards your ownership rights that you are entitled to.
You can listen to Taylor Swift, original and Taylor’s Version’s, on Spotify.
