Taylor Swift signs with Universal Music Publishing Group
Universal Music Group will now serve as the singer/songwriter’s exclusive worldwide recorded music partner
Taylor Swift announced Thursday she signed an exclusive global publishing agreement with Universal Music Publishing Group, ending her ties with Sony/ATV Music Publishing, the company she’d been with since age 14.
Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) will now serve as the singer/songwriter’s exclusive worldwide recorded music partner, while its Republic Records serves as her U.S. label partner, the company said in a press release.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The New York Times, citing two people briefed on the agreement, reported the 30-year-old star’s new contract will eventually cover her full catalog once Sony/ATV’s rights to older songs expire, in addition to any new work she produces.
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"I'm proud to extend my partnership with Lucian Grainge and the Universal Music family by signing with UMPG, and for the opportunity to work with Jody Gerson, the first woman to run a major music publishing company," Swift said in a statement. "Jody is an advocate for women's empowerment and one of the most-respected and accomplished industry leaders."
Taylor Swift attends the premiere of "Miss Americana" at the Eccles Theater during the 2020 Sundance Film Festival on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
Swift is following UMPG Nashville head Troy Tomlinson, who left Sony/ATV in the summer.
"Tomlinson has been an amazing part of my team for over half my life and a passionate torchbearer for songwriters," Swift said in a statement.
The news also comes after the Jan. 31 release of "Miss Americana," a documentary on Swift's rise to fame that premiered at Sundance Film Festival. The documentary focuses on pressures not to speak up that Swift has felt throughout her career.
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Swift's beef with her old label went public in November when the 29-year-old performer said she might cancel her scheduled performance at the American Music Awards and postpone "Miss Americana." She said record executive Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta, of her former label Big Machine Label Group, refused to let her perform her earlier music.
Swift asked her outraged fans to share their feelings with the two executives, winning support from presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren, the Democratic senator from Massachusetts, and Creedence Clearwater Revival singer John Fogerty.
FOX Business' Evie Fordham, Blair Shiff and Stephanie Pagones contributed to this report.
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