If that were the case, the songs didn't belong to the label in the first place and there's no need to buy them back since they belong to the original writers.

If that were the case, the songs didn't belong to the label in the first place and there's no need to buy them back since they belong to the original writers. Unless you consider the fact that by paying someone to do work for you and entering a contractual agreement means that you, in all senses, do own that work. Then the legal rights to such work can be bought and sold But I'm sure you know far better than the rest of us exactly what's in Swift's contracts with her writers