Taylor Swift's masters sold to investment fund Shamrock

Investment fund Shamrock Holdings has purchased the rights to Taylor Swift's first six albums from Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings, marking the second time in 17 months that ownership over her early recordings has changed hands, Variety reports. The deal of record label Big Machine's resale is thought to be worth somewhere in the region of $300-$400 million. Shamrock Capital, which now owns Swift's first six albums, is a private equity firm originally set up by the Disney family. Swift isn't happy with this deal either, since Scooter Braun will maintain some control of her recordings. Swift signed a deal with Big Machine in 2004 granting them ownership of the master recordings to her first six albums in exchange for a cash advance to kick-start her career. Ownership of masters means the owner controls what can be done with the original recording of a song or album, from re-releases and box sets to making it available for use in an advert or on a streaming platform. Swift, as the writer or co-writer of her music, still owns the publishing rights, which means she has the power to veto some of the owner's attempts to exploit her recordings.