Taylor Swift’s Record Label Is Powerless to Stop Her
Shari Redstone believes she's found the right buyer for Paramount. Her fellow shareholders aren't convinced.
Shari Redstone, chair of Paramount Global, arrives for the morning session during the Allen & Co. Media and Technology Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, US, on Wednesday, July 12, 2023.
Photographer: David Paul Morris/BloombergTaylor Swift’s music has returned to TikTok, undercutting her record label during its contract dispute with the social media app in order to benefit her upcoming album.
Universal Music Group Chief Executive Officer Lucian Grainge now really needs other music groups to join him in his fight when their contracts expire, or he loses much of his leverage. In the interim, he and his label bosses get to explain to their artists why Swift gets to play by a different set of rules.
Grainge could try to paint Swift as selfish. After all, Swift once tangled with Spotify and Apple Music, pushing them to better compensate artists. Now, while her record label attempts a similar fight with TikTok, she wants no part of it.