Singer and actress Selena Gomez is celebrating best friend Taylor Swift’s huge victory in regaining ownership of her masters.
The “Only Murders in the Building” star posted her congratulations in her Instagram Story, reposting the picture Taylor put up to announce that she had regained control of her entire music catalog.
Above Taylor’s picture sitting on the floor with her albums, Selena put a text box that read in all caps “YES YOU DID THAT TAY!!! So proud!”
Taylor Swift posted a long, emotional letter on her website announcing her victory in a battle that stretches back twenty years. She told fans that she is once again in control of her music catalog after a public ownership feud that led to Swift re-recording her albums one by one and rereleasing them subtitled “Taylor’s Version.”
In her original Instagram post, a carousel of pictures shows Swift sitting on the floor with the albums she now owns the rights to, with the caption, “You belong with me. 💚💛💜❤️🩵🖤.”
Selena Gomez Isn’t the Only Celeb Celebrating Swift Victory
Teammate of Taylor Swift’s boyfriend Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes retweeted a post that read, “Taylor Swift now owns her masters,” alongside a screenshot of Swift’s letter.
Mahomes’ wife Brittany, a close friend of Tay’s, also reposted Swift’s Instagram carousel in her stories with the caption “Just so amazing.”
But Travis Kelce’s support was a bit more subtle, with the Chiefs tight end dropping a heart on Swift’s original post.
Singers Jack Antonoff and Gracie Abrams also reshared Taylor Swift’s Instagram post in celebration.
Rapper Flavor Flav Posts Delight Over Swift’s Announcement
Rapper Flavor Flav, who has dubbed himself “King Swiftie,” even got in on the act, posting on X “Congratulations to Taylor Swift @taylorswift13,” Flavor Flav wrote via X. “May you have peace and happiness and continue to gain more of that. This community is so happy for you,!!! 🙏🏾🔥👍🏾✨💛🫶🏾.” ::: KING SWIFTIE
Even arch nemesis Scooter Braun, who bought the ownership of Swift’s first six albums with Big Machine Records in 2019, told US magazine, “I am happy for her.” Braun sold the albums, including Swift’s self-titled debut, “Fearless,” “Speak Now,” “Red,” “1989” and “Reputation” to Shamrock Holdings less than a year and a half later for more than $300million.
At the time, Swift tweeted that Braun “would never even quote my team a price. These master recordings were not for sale to me.”
Taylor Swift’s Billionaire Status Helped Her Regain Ownership of Music
Taylor Swift’s record-breaking “Eras” tour skyrocketed the singer into billionaire status, with Forbes last year writing, “The 34-year-old pop star amassed an estimated $1.1 billion fortune, based on earnings from the blockbuster tour, the value of her music catalog and her real estate portfolio.”
Sources told Billboard that Shamrock Capital sold Swift’s catalog to her for around $360 million. Billboard estimates that that’s around what Shamrock paid for the catalog back in 2020. But that doesn’t mean Shamrock broke even on the deal.
Billboard explains, “However, the financial firm with ties to Disney still made a profit of around $100 million in total over the three plus years it owned the records. The six albums and two live albums that Swift recorded when she was signed to Big Machine generated roughly $60 million a year on average globally from 2022 to 2024, according to Billboard’s estimates based on Luminate data. Distribution, marketing and royalty payments to Swift likely consumed about 50% of that revenue, leaving Shamrock with an annual profit of around $30 million a year.”
During that time, Swift began re-recording her albums starting with “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)” in April 2021, followed by “Red (Taylor’s Version)” in November 2021. In 2023, she released “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” and “1989 (Taylor’s Version).” Each re-recorded album topped the Billboard 200 chart. The singer has also released five new albums on Republic Records since leaving Big Machine. Those include: “Lover” (2019), “Folklore” (2020), “Evermore” (2020), “Midnights” (2022) and “The Tortured Poets Department” (2024).
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Selena Gomez Cheers for Taylor Swift’s Huge Victory