The one-woman music industry, Miss Taylor Swift herself, has been gaining ownership over her music as of 2021. When Swift signed her first record deal in 2004, she agreed that her label would own the rights to the master recording copyright of her music, which is pretty common in the music industry. But because Taylor Swift writes all of her own music, she’s actually the owner of the composition copyright of her songs. Flash-forward to the year 2019 when Swift’s music was famously sold to American Executive Scooter Braun, which was very much against her wishes. Although the master recordings were sold to Scooter Braun, Swift kept the composition copyrights because she was the legal owner. To bite back at the sale of her music, Taylor did something that was pretty clever. She simply re-recorded her songs, which she has the legal right to do since she is the composition copyright owner. She titled all of these new recordings “Taylor’s Version” and told all of her loyal fans to support her with these new recordings, essentially making her old music useless. 

The “All Too Well” Short Film 

“And I left my scarf there at your sister’s house and you still got it in your drawer even now.” The story of a young romance quickly turning to heartache and misery is shown throughout the “All Too Well: The Short Film,” written and produced by Taylor Swift. Throughout the film, many fans have had speculation in the meaning of hidden Easter eggs. The red scarf is shown to be a representation of her lover at the time taking the last bits of her innocence. 

“The short film was amazing and it felt like it was longer than 10 minutes,” senior Lauren Teats said. “The exact parallels between the song and the acting were great and you could really see Taylor’s vision in her writing of the script.” 

The film featured actor Dylan O’Brien, known for his roles in The Maze Runner and Teen Wolf, along with the renowned Sadie Sink, known for her role in the popular Netflix TV show Stranger Things. 

“Both are amazing actors and did such a good job of portraying the type of relationship that the song is about,” said junior Lindsey Gleason. “I also thought it was interesting that the actors’ actual ages align with the ages of Taylor and Jake Gyllenhaal when they were dating.”

“I think that they were perfect cast choices considering their acting ability and their ability to perfectly portray the emotion that Taylor intended,” said Teats. “Also, Taylor playing a grown-up version of Sadie was perfect and they portray who they’re meant to be really well.” 

Sink and O’Brien perfectly re-create the devastation and heartbreak felt from a breakup. From breaking down to moving on, we see the whole story flash before our eyes. 

Swift loves a good parallel to her life. Throughout the film, there are bits and pieces of her life sprinkled within, from past songs to sneak peaks of future music videos and merch accessories. In one scene, O’Brien and Sink are shown doing a crossword puzzle together. This hints to another song on the re-recording, “Red.” “Fighting with him was like trying to solve a crossword and realizing there’s no right answer.” Wow, Swift really knows how to get her fans to conspire! On Oct. 26, 2021, Swift posted a TikTok teasing the “All Too Well: The Short Film”. Swift writes in a blank notebook with a light blue exterior, “Just between us, did the love affair maim you too?” After the film was released, fans realized the book Swift publishes is the notebook she was writing in (also available to buy on her merch site). Swifties are working non-stop to depict every single detail. When the teaser was first dropped, many fans were able to detect the car shown. A 1989 Mercedes Benz, could this be a hint to the next re-recording drop? Or just a fun way for Swift to throw her fans in a different direction? Either way, swifties know this feeling of confusion “All Too Well.” 

Album Popularity

Taylor Swift took the world by storm with the re-release of “Red”, with the beloved song “All Too Well” being #1 on the Billboard hot 100. Billboard charts officially named the song the longest No. 1 hit of all time at 10 minutes and 13 seconds. This achievement could not have been met if it weren’t for Taylor’s loyal listeners. 

“I really liked ‘Red!’ It’s probably one of my favorite Taylor Swift albums as it’s the most nostalgic to me,” said Gleason. “I’m just glad that she was able to redo it so that she actually gets the revenue produced from people listening and not Scooter Braun!”

Just as Gleason said, “Red” is a very nostalgic album for many OG fans. Many, if not most Swifties, grew up listening to the album religiously. Swift was able to revive an era that was greatly missed by her fans. “Red (Taylor’s Version)” has nearly double the amount of songs compared to the original “Red”, with a whopping 30 songs. Choosing a favorite has never been more difficult. 

“‘All Too Well’ is my obvious first choice but ‘I Knew You Were Trouble’ or ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together’ will always be iconic,” said Gleason. 

Popular songs from the vault include “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)”, “The Very First Night”, “I Bet You Think About Me”, “Message in a Bottle”, and many more. It’s hard to believe that these gems had been sitting as drafts for almost 10 years. 

The No.1 Hit of All Time

“I love that she did a re-release! I don’t observe any of her media and I don’t know anything much about her but I love her,” said Teats. “Considering she is trying to take back her own name, it’s very incredible.”

Old and new Swifties unite together in loving this new “Red” era. It has gotten so popular that it surpassed Don McLean’s “American Pie (Parts I & II),” said Billboard Charts on Twitter. McLean’s song has held this spot in charts for nearly half a century. Not only were fans surprised, but so was Swift. 

“You guys sent a 10 minute song to number one for the first time in history honestly WTH,” said Swift in a recent TikTok post. 

Fans stayed up on that early November morning to hear all these hits become revived. Many went to Twitter to express their feelings about the album. As well as hitting the trending page, a hashtag was created that included the iconic red scarf. 

While some of us sulk in our sorrows and think about how we knew they were trouble, it is clear to say that this new “Red” era is here to stay, for a little while at least. The Swiftie fandom is excited to see what the future holds and you never know, maybe we will learn a thing or two about getting “lost in translation.”