Taylor Swift's early music catalog was bought by Shamrock Holdings. For over a year, Taylor has been trying to buy her master's, which include her first six recorded albums, music videos, and album artwork. She was denied the opportunity to buy them, only for them to be bought by Hollywood's most callous manager. Recently, the master's were sold again to Shamrock Holdings.
A quick internet search will tell you that Shamrock Holdings is owned by none other than the Disney Family. Roy O. Disney founded the investment company and his granddaughter Abigail Disney is currently the Vice Chairman. Abigail Disney constantly speaks out against the Disney company's unethically greed and how current CEOs are not upholding Disney's morals.
According to their website, "Shamrock's tenet's are straightforward - invest and act with integrity, responsibility, and transparency."
I have to laugh at the "integrity" part. Stealing another artist's work is far from moral. It is said that Shamrock Holdings is aggressive and launches hostile takeovers.
I'm not going to sit here and pretend I know the ins and outs of the investment industry. I don't - it doesn't make any sense to me. But it doesn't matter.
Artists deserve to own their own work. End of story. That's all that matters.
Artists deserve to own their own work.
The significance of the Disney family buying another artist's work without their permission is not lost on me. Walt himself was once in a very similar position as Taylor. In 1927, Walt found himself struggling to get his cartoon studio off the ground. Producer Charles Mintz suggested that Walt create a character for Universal to distribute. So while Walt was working hard to create 26 Oswald cartoons, Mintz was secretly working for Universal and hiring Walt's animators out from under him. Oswald became a success, and Walt went to New York to negotiate a well-earned higher pay rate. To his surprise, Walt discovered that Mintz owned Oswald and that Universal could make Oswald cartoons with or without Walt.
Universal may have legally owned Oswald - but he was Walt's. Walt created Oswald. Walt gave Oswald a life, a personality. Oswald is Walt's. The same could be said for Taylor Swift and her music. She wrote every single song in her discography. Her songs are her words, her melodies, her stories - all based on her life. But she is not in control of her own work.
How can Abigail Disney, after knowing her great-uncle's history, buy another artist's work out from under them? How can Abigail Disney be an advocate against money-hungry companies and be part of such an unethical business decision?
Shamrock Holdings made a very, very bad move.
The only sliver of justice will come with Taylor Swift re-records all of her own music. Taylor Swift's fanbase has been sorely underestimated before, and the cynics were proven so wrong that it was embarrassing. After all, this is the same woman who continues to break her own album sales records with each one she releases. Her fans will buy the re-recorded ones and ditch the old ones. Taylor will sell her new songs to be used in commercials and movies and will continue to ignore any business deal pleas from Shamrock. Shamrock will NOT make any of their money back. And it will be what they deserve.
If Taylor's path is to continue to replicate Walt's, she will own her art once again one day.
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