Taylor Swift Took Another Singer's Advice That Made Her A Billionaire
Taylor Swift is officially a billionaire.
Swift has millions of fans worldwide and has had numerous hits throughout her career. However, she just made it into Forbes World's Billionaires List. The 34-year-old singer-songwriter is now worth $1.1 billion after a nearly two-decade career, spanning 10 original studio albums, four re-recorded albums and her ongoing "The Eras Tour," which has grossed more than $1 billion so far.
Years before Swift became a billionaire, she was embroiled in a feud with Big Machine Records' Scott Borchetta and Ithaca Holdings' Scooter Braun. Big Machine Records, her former record label where she recorded her first six albums, sold her masters, videos and artwork to celebrity manager Braun. The move left Swift furious and heartbroken, but fellow singer Kelly Clarkson pitched a wise idea that enabled the "Anti-Hero" singer to still make money from her previous albums.
(Photo : Kevin Winter/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)
"@taylorswift13 just a thought, [you] should go in & re-record all the songs that [you] don't own the masters on exactly how [you] did them but put brand new art & some kind of incentive so fans will no longer buy the old versions," the first "American Idol" winner suggested on X, formerly Twitter, before offering her support to Swift. "I'd buy all of the new versions just to prove a point [woman tipping hand emoji]."
And as Clarkson suggested, Swift released her version of her previous albums one at a time starting with "Fearless (Taylor's Version)" in 2021. The move not only brought her music back to the scene but made her songs even more popular.
Swift's fans supported the pop superstar and refused to buy the first six albums, opting for her versions. The re-release of her fifth studio album, "1989," from 2014, as "1989 (Taylor's Version)" on Oct. 27, 2023, made her a billionaire, per The Sun. The record features "Blank Space," "Style" "Wildest Dreams," "Welcome to New York," "Out of the Woods" and "Shake It Off," among others.
Swift has acknowledged Clarkson's contribution to her success, sending the "Kelly Clarkson Show" host flowers every time she would release a new album. In 2023, Clarkson gushed over Swift's thoughtful gesture.
"You know what's so funny? She just sent me flowers," Clarkson told E! News. "She's so nice. She did. She was like, 'Every time I release something' -- 'cause she just did '1989.' I got that really cute cardigan, too."
Swift opened up about her dispute with Braun and Big Machine Records on social media in 2019. According to her, she wasn't given access to perform her songs on stage and the archives for her Netflix documentary, "Miss Americana."
"I feel very strongly that sharing what is happening to me could change the awareness level for other artists and potentially help them avoid a similar fate," she wrote, per The Sun. "The message being sent to me is very clear -- basically, be a good little girl and shut up. Or you'll be punished. This is WRONG. Neither of these men [Braun and Borchetta] had a hand in the writing of those songs. They did nothing to create the relationship I have with my fans. So this is where I'm asking for your help."
Eventually, Borchetta told Swift that he and Braun would make an exception and allow her to re-record her albums starting November 2020 if she would not "re-record copycat versions of [her] songs next year" and would stop "talking about him and Scooter Braun," Entertainment Weekly reported.
