Allowing artists to own their masters lets them have control of their music and grants them freedom to decide what happens with their songs and albums.
Having a hand in masters in music ownership can allow artists to make decisions including when their music is played in shows, movies, commercials and more while the artists bring in the royalties instead of record labels.
Masters in music are the original recording of a song, according to the independent record label Amuse.
Many of us are familiar with the drama between Taylor Swift and Kanye West from the moment at the 2009 Video Music Awards when West interrupted Swift’s acceptance of the best female music video award, according to an Aug. 26, 2019 Vox article. However, one thing they both can agree on is that artists should have the right of owning the masters of their music.
Being a fan of both Swift and West, seeing them take it upon themselves to battle for all artists and seeing them fighting for what they believe in is amazing. Every artist should have a say in what happens with what they create.
Swift, a worldwide sensation, had to wait at least five years for each album leading up to “Reputation” before she can re-record it and list it as “Taylor’s version” because of some backstabbing and miscommunication from Scooter Braun, Swift’s ex-talent manager.
The talent manager has worked alongside music stars including Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber and West, according to a July 2022 Us Weekly article.
After Swift publicly dealt with Braun regarding her old music, she decided to put the war aside and begin re-recording all her albums for herself and her fans.
Even though Braun is in control of the singer’s first six albums after news broke that he had acquired Big Machine Records, Swift’s old record label, she is not letting that get in the way of new accomplishments.
During the altercation between the two, Braun reportedly thought Swift was “bluffing” and had made “empty threats” when she said she would recreate and re-record her work once it was allowed, according to a Nov. 11, 2021 Popcrush article.
Popcrush is a website dedicated to celebrity and entertainment news, according to its website.
West, the 45-year-old rapper, has never been afraid to share and vocalize his opinions on Twitter about how he feels about the issue between Taylor and Braun.
“When you sign a music deal, you sign away your rights. Without the masters, you can’t do anything with your own music. Someone else controls where it’s played and when it’s played. Artists have nothing except fame, touring, and merch,” West said in a Sept. 16, 2020 Twitter post.
West said he would be giving artists signed to his record label “Good Music” the 50% of their masters he owned in a Sept. 23, 2020 tweet.
Slow changes and voicing your opinion to the public even when there might be consequences or backlash is an essential fight for justice and equality in the music industry.
While many like to say all Swift does is make music about her ex-boyfriends, and West needs to receive mental health help, they are both fighting for the same rights in the music industry in their own ways.
As long as artists like those have power and are willing to fight for what they believe in, it will lead to the ripple effect of artists standing up for themselves and others.
As a writer who has work published in other countries, it hits home to have a say in what gets published for thousands to read and see with your name.
Holding masters over artists who can write and sing is unjustifiable.
Creativity that comes from the artists is how companies and record labels bring in the big bucks, and without the number of hours and hard work musicians put in, there would be nothing.
Hopefully, as we enter a new era where speaking up and fighting for artists’ rights will permeate through and purify the music industry.
