A single tweet from Kelly Clarkson in 2019 helped set in motion one of the most significant moves in modern music history.
According to Stacker, Taylor Swift's early catalog, owned by Big Machine Label Group, was sold to talent manager Scooter Braun for $300 million in June 2019. Swift said she learned of the sale publicly and called it her "worst case scenario," as the deal included the master recordings of her first six albums.
READ MORE: Kelly Clarkson Reveals Why She's Stepping Away From Her Talk Show on 'Today'
"This is what happens when you sign a deal at fifteen to someone for whom the term 'loyalty' is clearly just a contractual concept," Swift said in a public statement the day of the sale.
Clarkson offered advice on Twitter shortly after, suggesting Swift re-record all her music that she didn't own. The singer explained the strategy: release new versions with fresh artwork and incentives to encourage fans to prioritize the new recordings. "Make the old recordings worth less by making something better," Clarkson wrote.
The plan unfolded successfully. Swift began re-recording her catalog in November 2020 under the Taylor's Version project. Albums including Fearless, Red, Speak Now, and 1989 debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, with the original recordings steadily losing streaming traction.
Clarkson confirmed that Swift expressed her gratitude in a personal gesture. "She's a very smart businesswoman," Clarkson told E! News. "If they're going to find a loophole, you find a loophole. And she did it." Swift even sent Clarkson a cardigan after the 1989 re-release.
The strategy culminated in May 2025 when Swift purchased her masters back from Shamrock Capital, giving her full ownership of her recordings, videos, album art, and unreleased material.
Two albums remain unreleased as Taylor's Version: Reputation and her 2006 self-titled debut. Swift has finished re-recording her first album, but she hasn't fully gone back to Reputation yet because it makes her feel so emotional.
In other news, Kelly Clarkson revealed on The Kelly Clarkson Show that she never received the car promised for winning American Idol 24 years ago, according to Billboard.
"The $1 million was an investment in me via a recording contract. And then they said, 'You get a car!' And then, no! I did not get a car!" she said, recalling her frustration.
She added that future contestants, like Clay Aiken, did receive vehicles.
Despite the setback, Clarkson turned her victory into a successful music career with multiple No. 1 hits and albums and later hosted The Kelly Clarkson Show for seven seasons.
READ MORE: Kelly Clarkson Likely to Leave Daytime Television as Her Eponymous Talk Show Nears the End
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