Taylor Swift announces rerecording of album ‘Fearless’ after losing its masters

Taylor Swift announced Thursday on Good Morning America that she finished re-recording her sophomore album “Fearless,” including hit song “Love Story,” after losing its master recordings in 2019.

The singer shared in a video message that “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)” will feature six additional songs from the vault. Her new version of “Love Story” will drop Thursday at midnight.

“I’ve now gone back and recorded those so that everyone will be able to hear not only the songs that made the album but the songs that almost made it,” Swift said. “The full picture.”

Swift explained in a message on Twitter that she’s re-creating her older music because “artists should own their own work.”

I’m thrilled to tell you that my new version of Fearless (Taylor’s Version) is done and will be with you soon. It has 26 songs including 6 never before released songs from the vault. Love Story (Taylor’s Version) will be out tonight. Pre-order now at https://t.co/NqBDS6cGFl pic.twitter.com/Vjyy2gA72O

— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) February 11, 2021

Swift’s message included seemingly random capitalized letters, which fans have speculated spells out “APRIL NINTH,” and anticipate that’s when the new Fearless album will drop.

The 10-time Grammy winner announced at the end of 2019 that she would be rerecording her first six albums after mega Hollywood manager Scooter Braun sold the master rights that June to an investment fund. The sale came after Braun’s company Ithaca Holdings LLC acquired Big Machine Label Group, Variety reports.

In a message she posted to Twitter in November, Swift explained that her catalogue was sold without her knowledge. She claimed she wasn’t made aware of the sale of her masters until the new buyer alerted her, despite her having been actively working to purchase them.

“These master recordings were not for sale to me,” she wrote.

Been getting a lot of questions about the recent sale of my old masters. I hope this clears things up. pic.twitter.com/sscKXp2ibD

— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) November 16, 2020

Her latest albums – Lover, Folklore and Evermore – were released through Universal Music Group’s Republic Records.