The largest radio station owner in America, iHeart Radio, will now only play “Taylor’s Versions” when it comes to Taylor Swift’s LPs. To date, Swift has only released two re-recorded versions of her albums, Fearless and newly-released Red, which she is doing so as to control the masters of her work.
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Said Tom Poleman, Chief Programming Officer for iHeartMedia, in a statement: “Whenever Taylor re-records a new track, we immediately replace the old versions. Our stations will always deliver songs that artists are eager to share and fans want to hear.
“Listeners have made it known that they cannot wait to hear Taylor’s Version of each track. We are thrilled to provide a platform to share those with them, as well as the stories behind the songs from Taylor herself.”
Swift has announced that her intention with the re-recordings is to re-release each of her albums, up to her 2019 LP, Lover.
While the choice to play the songs on radio may not affect Swift’s financial bottom line much, it is a sign that it’s her versions that will be mainstays on the airwaves moving forward.
According to iHeart Radio, today, Swift owns the masters for Lover, folklore, evermore, Fearless (Taylor’s Version), and the over-the-weekend-released Red (Taylor’s Version). Still remaining for Swift to re-record are her self-titled debut album, Speak Now, 1989, and Reputation.
Both of the “Taylor’s Versions” re-releases have included the expected re-recordings, as well as songs “From The Vault” that were written during the time of the original albums. Some of the FTV songs have been reworked and include duets with artists like Chris Stapleton, Keith Urban, and Phoebe Bridgers. Red (Taylor’s Version) also included a 10-minute rendition of “All Too Well.”
Swift, who played SNL over the weekend, had previously said in an Instagram post, “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.”
