05 November 2019
Newsdesk
Taylor Swift has called on other pop superstars to fight for better deals for unknown artists and songwriters.
The Bad Blood hitmaker signed a groundbreaking deal with Universal Music Group's Republic Records last year, that not only guaranteed her ownership of her masters, but also ensured Universal's other artists received the proceeds of sales of Spotify shares.
Speaking to Britain's Music Week magazine, the 29-year-old singer said that she believes stars need to leverage their power with record companies to help lesser-known artists, writers, and producers to get them better deals from labels and streaming services.
"I'm one of the only people in the artist realm who can be loud about it," she mused. "People who are on their fifth, sixth or seventh album, we're the only ones who can speak out, because new artists and producers and writers need to work.
"They need to be endearing and likeable and available to their labels and streaming services at all times. It's up to the artists who have been around for a second to say, 'Hey guys, the producers and the writers and the artists are the ones who are making music what it is'. And we're in a great place in music right now thanks to them."
Talking of her new deal, the star said Universal and Republic chiefs are "adopting some of my ideas". She also delivered another veiled parting shot to her old label boss Scott Borchetta of Big Machine, who she has previously slammed for selling his firm, and with it her old masters, to Justin Bieber's manager Scooter Braun earlier this year.
"When someone just looks at you and says 'Yes, you deserve what you want', after a decade or more of being told, 'I'm not sure you deserve what you want' - there's a freedom that comes with that," she said of her relationship with executives at her new label.
Taylor was enraged with Scott, who signed her as a teenager, for selling up to Scooter, with whom she had feuded over her disagreements with another of his clients, Kanye West.
