Mirrorballs, pink sparkles, and cowboy boots have plagued the city of Nashville, implying only one thing — the Taylor Swift Eras Tour. Fans congregated in the Nissan stadium May 5 for the Nashville leg’s opening night. Midway through the concert, fans received a special surprise as Swift announced her next “Taylor’s Version” album. Nearly thirteen years after its original release date, “Speak Now: Taylor’s Version” will launch July 7.
The news spread across the city in hues of violet — a color commonly associated with “Speak Now.” The John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge, Tennessee State Capitol and downtown Alliance Bernstein skyscraper lit up purple as an ode to the upcoming album.
Swift released the announcement to the general public shortly after, accompanied by the album’s cover — a modern adaptation of the 2010 version.
“I always looked at this album as my album, and the lump in my throat expands to a quivering voice as I say this,” she wrote in her release announcement. “Thanks to you, dear reader, it finally will be. I consider this music, along with your faith in me, the best thing that’s ever been mine.”
Swift made the decision to re-record her discography in early 2019 after Big Machine Records sold her first six albums to an investment group. This gave her little control over how the songs were used. Re-recording the albums enables her to grant authorization for their use, for instance in commercials or movies.
“Every week, we get a dozen synch requests to use ‘Shake It Off’ in some advertisement or ‘Blank Space’ in some movie trailer, and we say no to every single one of them.” Swift said in a 2019 interview with Billboard. “And the reason I’m rerecording my music next year is because I do want my music to live on. I do want it to be in movies, I do want it to be in commercials. But I only want that if I own it.”
Since the transaction, she has re-recorded her 2008 album “Fearless” and 2012’s “Red” along with later hits such as “Wildest Dreams” and “This Love” for use in media.
Until the album’s release, Swift will continue to make weekly stops in major cities such as Chicago and Los Angeles for the U.S. leg of the Eras Tour.
