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Taylor Swift has demonstrated her genius as a businesswoman within the industry by simply re-recording her back catalogue as "Taylor's Versions" which the recor

Taylor Swift has demonstrated her genius as a businesswoman within the industry by simply re-recording her back catalogue as "Taylor's Versions" which the record company had no rights to -- also a badass example of a woman taking back control of her creative output from an industry dedicated to exploiting the likes of her. (Talk to a female musician if you know one. Women have few options but to let themselves be exploited, sexually and otherwise, if they want to progress in the industry.) Prince could have done the same, but AFAICT he never did. Wonder why? Did he figure the rereleases wouldn't sell? "Weird Al" Yankovic was one of the first major artists to switch from an album-based format to just releasing singles as they were recorded. Ironic, because Al was always taking good-natured jabs at Prince for not permitting him to parody any of his music. ("Word Crimes" having one example of such).

actionfromafar 1y ago
In the late 90s it was still very hard to be seen and heard. The labels still controlled the pipeline to an extent which isn't possible now.
whaleofatw2022 1y ago
> Women have few options but to let themselves be exploited, sexually and otherwise, if they want to progress in the industry Weinstein and JayZ taught us that plenty of men have the same problem...
bazoom42 1y ago
Princes problem was different than Swifts. Prince had a recording contract where the company could decide what to release of his work and they released less than Prince wanted.
- throwaway422432 1y ago
  Jonny Greenwood started The Smile with jazz drummer Tom Skinner because he was frustrated with the slow progress of releasing content with Radiohead who have famously stayed independent and in control after fulfilling their initial EMI contract. He was wanting put music out fast and often, "90% polished" with none of the baggage of Radiohead's legacy or expectations. After bringing in Thom Yorke they have 3 albums in as many years and just release stuff randomly as it's ready. Pure creativity and a lot of it is more than good enough to satisfy my Radiohead itch. While there are a few never finished/published Radiohead era tracks like Skrting on the Surface, most of it comes out of the trio jamming together.
mmooss 1y ago
> Prince could have done the same, but AFAICT he never did. Wonder why? He might not have had the same rights to the music, publishing, etc. that Swift has. Also, his music relied quite a bit on production (not an insult; it's just the way he made music); maybe he felt he couldn't reproduce the originals or didn't want versions other than the ones he believed in.
- deleted 1y ago
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- bazoom42 1y ago
  Princes famous conflict with the label was because they has the final say over what material to release, and they allowed fewer releases than Prince wanted. So re-recording would not change anything.
joezydeco 1y ago
The UK band Squeeze the the same thing, 13 years before Taylor did. https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2010/oct/25/squeeze-back-catalogue-up-junction https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2010/oct/25/sque...
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actionfromafar 1y ago

In the late 90s it was still very hard to be seen and heard. The labels still controlled the pipeline to an extent which isn't possible now.

whaleofatw2022 1y ago

> Women have few options but to let themselves be exploited, sexually and otherwise, if they want to progress in the industry Weinstein and JayZ taught us that plenty of men have the same problem...

bazoom42 1y ago

Princes problem was different than Swifts. Prince had a recording contract where the company could decide what to release of his work and they released less than Prince wanted.

throwaway422432 1y ago
Jonny Greenwood started The Smile with jazz drummer Tom Skinner because he was frustrated with the slow progress of releasing content with Radiohead who have famously stayed independent and in control after fulfilling their initial EMI contract. He was wanting put music out fast and often, "90% polished" with none of the baggage of Radiohead's legacy or expectations. After bringing in Thom Yorke they have 3 albums in as many years and just release stuff randomly as it's ready. Pure creativity and a lot of it is more than good enough to satisfy my Radiohead itch. While there are a few never finished/published Radiohead era tracks like Skrting on the Surface, most of it comes out of the trio jamming together.

mmooss 1y ago

> Prince could have done the same, but AFAICT he never did. Wonder why? He might not have had the same rights to the music, publishing, etc. that Swift has. Also, his music relied quite a bit on production (not an insult; it's just the way he made music); maybe he felt he couldn't reproduce the originals or didn't want versions other than the ones he believed in.

deleted 1y ago
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bazoom42 1y ago
Princes famous conflict with the label was because they has the final say over what material to release, and they allowed fewer releases than Prince wanted. So re-recording would not change anything.

joezydeco 1y ago

The UK band Squeeze the the same thing, 13 years before Taylor did. https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2010/oct/25/squeeze-back-catalogue-up-junction https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2010/oct/25/sque...

deleted 1y ago

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