On Wednesday morning, Big Machine Records (BMLG) announced it will be rereleasing a limited run of Taylor Swift‘s sophomore single, Teardrops On My Guitar (2007), from her self-titled debut album on a seven-inch vinyl variant this August.
BMLG is the Wildest Dreams singer’s former record label, which she left last November after more than a decade before joining Republic Records, a subsidiary of Universal Music Group (UMG).
At the end of June, it was revealed that BMLG had been purchased by music and entertainment entrepreneur Scooter Braun, an individual for whom Swift has previously expressed her dislike.
Along with the company, Braun, 38, now owns the rights to the pop star’s entire music catalogue, dating back to Swift’s inaugural album, which was released in 2006.
The revelation sparked a massive controversy at the beginning of July after Swift, 29, crafted an emotional Tumblr post reacting to the record label’s purchase.
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The announcement of the already sold-out, hand-numbered rerelease of Teardrops On My Guitar came just three weeks after BMLG announced the rerelease of a similar variant of Swift’s debut single, Tim McGraw. That sold out almost immediately, too.
Angry Swift fans flocked to BMLG’s Instagram posts demanding the company return the rights to her music.
“Give Taylor her masters back!” wrote one.
“Very nice news!” commented another sarcastically. “How about giving back to the creator, Taylor Swift, her musical rights?”
“You are really milking this till there is nothing left, huh?” added another user.
BMLG later turned off the comments on its Teardrops On My Guitar announcement post.
According to Billboard, a BMLG representative claimed the company had been planning to release the singles “since the spring,” adding the decision was made before Braun purchased the label.
The representative added that BMLG currently has plans to release three additional singles from Swift’s early career, however the representative did not disclose the song titles or release dates.
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As of this writing, Swift has not yet addressed the releases, however she kept herself busy on Wednesday evening with a performance at the Amazon Prime Day concert at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City.
Accompanied by backup dancers and armed with a hit-filled nine-song set, Swift hyped fans around the world as the annual celebration was livestreamed across the globe for those who couldn’t attend.
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During a rendition of Shake It Off, Swift took a moment to emphasize a key lyric in the song.
“Liars and the dirty, dirty cheats of the world,” she sang, flashing an unimpressed stare.
Fans of the singer quickly took to Twitter to share their excitement after the highlight moment, with many speculating that Swift was, in fact, secretly calling out Braun and her former label manager, Scott Borchetta.
Global News has reached out to representatives of both BMLG and Swift seeking comment on the rereleased singles.
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