Darden Releases New Case Study (Taylor’s Version)

Darden Business Publishing Offers Case on Master Recording Valuation

Taylor Swift’s right to control the master recordings of her first six albums has resonated in popular culture since the controversy began in 2019, when Scooter Braun purchased Big Machine Records, Swift’s original label. As the songwriter, Swift owned the publishing rights to her songs, but the label owned the performances captured on the recordings, and Swift’s antipathy to Braun was strong. She called his ownership “my worst case scenario.” But less than two years later, Braun was looking to sell.

Beyond the controversy, any potential acquirer had to deal with several factors creating uncertainty as to the future value of the recordings:

Photo: Shutterstock / Tinseltown. Taylor Swift won six awards at the 2022 American Music Awards, including two for her re-recorded album Red (Taylor’s Version).

• Were fundamental changes still ongoing in the music industry after years of upheaval, or were costs and revenues generally predictable?
• Would Swift go through with her plans to re-record the albums when she had the contractual right to do so, creating new “Taylor-approved” versions of the songs? How would Swift’s legendarily loyal fans respond knowing how important the case was to the artist?
• If she did indeed re-record, how much value would the originals have? Would they lose value, and if so by how much? How would re-recording adjust the value allocated to Swift?
• With Braun no longer the rights-holder, would Swift be amenable to a partnership with new ownership, which could not be discussed prior to the sale? What could such a partnership look like?

The new case, “Shamrock Capital: Pricing the Masters of Taylor Swift” provides the opportunity to delve deeply into both the human and business factors that Shamrock Capital had to consider when making the purchase.

Estimated Number of Global Streams across All Platforms by Year for Swift Masters (in millions)

Source: Case author estimates based on data reported by Spotify and analyst forecasts

“I want to thank Professor Michael Schill for his constant support for this project” said the case’s author Kelcie Schofield (MBA ’23). “His guidance helped make a Taylor Swift-centric finance case a reality.”

For Darden students, and others who engage with the case, the collision of interests, assets and celebrities offers an engaging opportunity for financial decision-making in conditions of uncertainty. The case is particularly effective at introducing firm valuation technique and serves as the introductory case for Darden’s course Valuation in Financial Markets.

Find the case at Darden Business Publishing