When Taylor Swift first announced she'd bought back her masters, her letter to fans implied that she might not finish or release the re-recording or "Taylor's Version" of Reputation. At first, I was disappointed. Now, however, I've come to accept the reality that Reputation (Taylor's Version) may never see the light of day. And I kind of like it better that way.
Swift reclaiming the rights to all her original music was the whole point of the "Taylor's Version" re-releases in the first place. She was initially denied the opportunity to purchase the full rights to her first seven studio albums, and the re-recordings were her way of still being able to one day fully own the first decade or so of her art.
She has fully met that goal now -- the opportunity came for her to finally purchase those masters, and it's all said and done. The original incentive for the Taylor's Version project has disappeared. Part of me would like to genuinely believe that deep down, there were -- and still are -- other motivations for these re-recordings. At first, with those first few re-releases, it genuinely seemed like her heart was fully in it.
I don't think that's the reason we probably won't get a re-recording of Reputation, though -- at least we won't for a long time. She implied as much in the letter she wrote to her fans. She kept hitting a wall trying to record that music. And what else would you expect? When she wrote those songs, she took all her pain, anger, sadness, joy, despair, hope -- she poured it all into that album. I don't know how you go about recreating something like that. I don't know why you'd want to.
I'm writing this, possibly as a minority, from the position that Taylor Swift is an actual person with emotions, who is capable of and has shown tangible signs of growth over the past decade. Think back to who you were a decade ago, what your life is like, the way you saw and interacted with the world. Would you want to dig up all that past you'd buried for the sake of your art?
Okay, fair, you'd do it if you'd make as much money off of it as Swift would make off of Reputation (TV). Understandable. But let's not forget that this woman, as talented and smart as she may be, is still a billionaire at a level of fame where she could afford to never work again and she'd be fine. She doesn't need to remake an album from 2017 for money or to prove a point anymore. And maybe it's time her fans just let her make that choice for herself. Taylor Swift is going to do what Taylor Swift wants, or doesn't want, to do. Maybe, just this once, we just let her do her thing in peace.
I'm a Swiftie. I know how we behave, especially online. Most of you aren't going to let this go. But that's your choice. You make yours, I'll make mine, and as always, Taylor Swift will continue to be Taylor Swift no matter the outcome.