For the last 13 years Taylor Swift has given the people what they want.
She’s poured her heart out in beautiful lyrics, composed sick beats and put on countless incredible performances.
She meets her fans, interacts with them on Tumblr, sends them gifts and even surprises them by turning up to sing at their birthdays, engagement parties and weddings.
Honestly we couldn’t ask for more from her.
But now she’s asking her fans for one thing in return, and it’s heartbreaking that she’s had to seek help from the public for this.
Taylor has taken to social media to urge people to “talk some sense” into Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta .
In case you didn’t know, these are the two men who currently own the singer’s back catalogue of work, everything from Tim McGraw to Look What You Made Me Do.
Earlier this year, the 29-year-old released a statement revealing that her life’s work had been sold out from under her – from Borchetta’s Big Machine label group to Braun.
Swift said at the time that it was her “worst case scenario”.
Tragically, that worst case scenario just got a whole lot worse.
Not only does the superstar not currently own all of her music, according to the singer she’s now being prevented from even performing it.
In a lengthy statement shared online last night, Swift opened up about the current restraints the two men are placing on her career.
“It’s been announced recently that the American Music Awards will be honoring me with the Artist of the Decade Award at this year’s ceremony,” she wrote.
“I’ve been planning to perform a medley of my hits throughout the decade on the show. Scott Borchetta and Scooter Braun have now said that I’m not allowed to perform my old songs on television.”
She continued to say that Netflix had been working on a documentary celebrating her career and that the two men were also refusing to let her use footage of old performances for it.
The only way they will relent, she claims, is if she agrees not to take back ownership of her music by re-recording her first six albums, something she can legally start doing as of November 2020.
She added: “Scott Borchetta told my team that they’ll allow me to use my music only if I do these things: If I agree to not re-record copycat versions of my songs next year and also told my team that I need to stop talking about him and Scooter Braun.”
At a complete loose end, Swift is asking for everyone and anyone to try and do what they can change Braun and Borchetta’s minds.
As a big fan of Swift and her work this whole situation makes me feel physically sick.
But my feelings about her aside, as a woman watching two men treat another woman so poorly, I am outraged – and you should be too.
Whether you’re a fan of the singer’s or not, we surely can all agree that an artist should own their art and be allowed to do what they want with it.
If this is happening to a global superstar who has just been named the artist of the decade, what on earth are these types of people doing to smaller, up and coming artists?
Taylor Swift deserves better. Women in the music industry deserve better.I’m not the only one who thinks this.
A petition on change.org for Swift to be allowed to perform her music has amassed over 50,000 signatures in just 11 hours. The hashtag #IStandWithTaylor has also been trending across the world on Twitter all morning.
And several celebrities, including Halsey, Lily Allen, Gigi Hadid, Greg James and Bobby Berk have spoken out in support of Swift.
But there are plenty more people out there who could help right this wrong.
Where are all the other musicians whose careers Taylor has given a boost? They all have influence and their words could make such a difference.
It’s time for ALL her fellow artists to speak now.Taylor Swift just wants to sing the songs that she wrote in her teenage bedroom, the songs that caused those guitar string scars on her hands, the songs that ultimately tell the story of her life – and no one else’s.
She shouldn’t be stopped from doing that.
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