Full text of Taylor Swift's letter

Taylor Swift said on Friday she had purchased the master recordings of her first six albums, giving her control of all of her music after a dispute with her former record label.

Swift's masters had been sold in 2019 and the singer said she was not given the opportunity to buy them at the time. She re-recorded four of the albums with the subtitle "Taylor's Version."

Swift purchased the original recordings from current owner Shamrock Capital in what she called her "greatest dream come true." No financial terms were disclosed.

"I've been bursting into tears of joy at random intervals ever since I found out this is really happening," she said in a statement on her website. "I really get to say these words: All of the music I've ever made ... now belongs ... to me."

The "Fortnight" singer also said she had re-recorded her 2006 self-titled debut album and parts of 2017 release "Reputation." She said she would release them "when the time is right, if that would be something you guys would be excited about."

Below is the full text of Taylor Swift's letter:

"Hi,

I'm trying to gather my thoughts into something coherent, but right now my mind is just a slideshow. A flurry of memories of all the times I fantasized about, wished for, and prayed for a chance to get to tell you this news. All the times I second-guessed myself, wondering if it was ever going to be possible. I almost stopped thinking it could ever happen. After 20 years of hoping, the carrot dangled and then yanked away. But that's all in the past now. I've been bursting into tears of joy at random intervals ever since I found out that this is really happening. I really get to say these words:

All of the music I’ve ever made... now belongs to me.

And all my music videos.

All the short films.

The album art and photography.

The unreleased songs.

The memories. The magic. The madness.

Every single era.

My entire life’s work.

To say this is the greatest dream come true is actually being pretty reserved about it. To my fans, you know how important this has been to me — so much so that I meticulously re-recorded and released 6 of my albums, calling them Taylor’s Version. The passionate support you showed for those albums and the success of The Eras Tour is why I was able to buy back my music. I can’t thank you enough for helping me reunite with this art that I have dedicated my life to, but have never owned — until now.

All I’ve ever wanted was the opportunity to work hard enough to be able to one day purchase my music outright, with no strings attached, no partnership, full autonomy. I will be forever grateful to everyone at Shamrock Capital for being the first people to offer that to me. Every interaction we had was honest, fair, and respectful. This was a business deal to them, but to me, it’s the most precious thing I’ve ever been a part of. My memories and the music I made, every laugh and every tear — they now belong to me. My team just got a little bigger with a new shamrock by our side.

I know, I know. What about Rep TV? Full transparency: I haven’t even started recording it. The Reputation album was so specific to that time in my life, and I kept it in the vault because I wanted to be over it before I re-recorded it. All that drama, the heartbreak, the rage, the mischaracterization. I kept putting it off because I thought it couldn’t be improved upon by re-doing the music or visuals. So I kept putting it off. There will be a time (if you're waiting on the vault tracks from that album too — watch this space). I’ve already completely re-recorded and finalized Debut and TTPD. Those two albums can still have their moments. When the time is right, if that’s something you guys would be excited about, we’ll see. But it won’t come from a place of sadness or longing for what I wish I could have. It will just be a celebration now.

I’m extremely heartened by the conversations this saga has ignited within the industry among artists and fans. Every time a new artist tells me they signed their contract knowing they’ll own their masters — it’s because of this fight. I’m thankful to you for all of this to happen. Thank you for being curious about something that used to be thought of as too “industry-centric” to even discuss. You’ll never know how much it means to me that you cared. Every single bit of it counted and carried us here.

Thanks to you and your goodwill, teamwork, and encouragement, the best things that have ever been mine... finally are.

Elated and amazed,

Taylor."