Music
Why Can’t Taylor Swift Perform Her Own Songs? It’s Complicated
- Pop star accuses label of stopping her from singing her hits
- Rerecording provisions aren’t usually enforced in this way
Taylor Swift
Photographer: Carrie Davenport/TAS/Getty Images
When Taylor Swift is named the artist of the decade at the American Music Awards later this month, she may not be able to perform the songs that earned her the prize in the first place.
Swift claims her old record label, Big Machine, is blocking her from performing her biggest hits in public, using an obscure provision in most record contracts that prevents artists from rerecording their music. The dispute has rallied millions of Swift’s fans to her side, and opened a debate about the nature of rerecording provisions.