Red Taylor's Version Songs Overview
The re-recorded album titled Red (Taylor's Version) contains 30 tracks, including the original 16 songs from the 2012 release and 14 previously unreleased tracks labeled as vault songs. The album was released on November 12, 2021, by Republic Records, a division of Universal Music Group. It marked the first re-recorded album in Swift's project to reclaim ownership of her master recordings. The project targets the original masters owned by Scooter Braun's Ithaca Holdings, which were acquired by Shamrock Holdings in 2019. Swift's strategy involves re-recording each of her first six studio albums to gain control over licensing and streaming revenue.
Red (Taylor's Version) debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart in the United States, making it Swift's eleventh chart-topping album. The album accumulated 605,000 equivalent album units in its first week, with 472,500 units from pure sales. It also reached number one in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The project generated over 600 million streams globally in its first week across platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music. The vault tracks feature collaborations with artists such as Phoebe Bridgers, Ed Sheeran, and Chris Stapleton.
Track Listing and Commercial Performance
Original and Vault Tracks
The standard edition of Red (Taylor's Version) includes the original tracks "State of Grace," "Red," "Treacherous," and "All Too Well," alongside vault songs such as "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)," "Message in a Bottle," and "Better Man." The 10-minute version of "All Too Well" became the longest song to top the Billboard Hot 100, debuting at number one in November 2021. The album's vault tracks generated significant streaming numbers, with "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)" accumulating over 25 million streams on Spotify within its first 24 hours. The deluxe edition includes additional tracks such as "Nothing New" featuring Phoebe Bridgers and "Babe" featuring Sugarland.
Commercially, Red (Taylor's Version) generated an estimated 100 million dollars in global revenue within its first month of release. The album's success contributed to Swift becoming the first artist to occupy the top 10 spots on the Billboard Hot 100 simultaneously in 2023, a record later expanded during the Eras Tour era. The re-recording project has been cited by analysts at Forbes as a landmark case study in artist rights and intellectual property management. The album's masters are now controlled by Swift's private entity, enabling her to license the music for film, television, and commercial use.
Ownership, Legal Context, and Industry Impact
Master Recording Rights
The original masters of Taylor Swift's 2012 album Red were owned by Big Machine Records, which was sold to Shamrock Holdings in 2019 for a reported 300 million dollars. Swift stated she had attempted to purchase the masters but was blocked by Big Machine founder Scott Borchetta. The re-recording strategy is grounded in a contractual provision that allows artists to re-record their music after a five-year period from the