The reasons why artists re-record their own classics

Taylor Swift released 'Fearless (Taylor's Version)', a much-anticipated re-record of her 2008 pop breakthrough album. Since 2016, Wheatus have been working on a painstaking re-record of their 2000 debut. KISS, Blondie, DMX, Frank Sinatra and many more have made re-records of their biggest hits for their hits albums. It's not always full albums that are being re-recorded - Gloria Gaynor re-recorded her biggest hit 'I Will Survive'. Pre-Beatles rock artists, from '57 to '63, the 90 percent majority of them must have re-recorded their hits at some point or another in the last half century - as Andy Zax, a music producer specializing in historical and archival releases, assesses. In general, NPR puts it simply, the reasons for these re-records are simple: financial control and creative ownership.