Taylor Swift has been cleared to perform her old songs at the AMA’s after she called out her former record label for banning her from singing her old hits.
Swift’s former record label, Big Machine Records, said on Monday that it has reached a licensing agreement with Dick Clark Production and that the artist can perform ‘Shake It Off’ and other old hits at the AMAs. In a statement released by Big Machine Records, the company said that the licensing agreement with Dick Clark Production allows Swift and other artists to stream post-show and rebroadcast on platforms that are mutually approved.
“Recording artists do not need the approval of the label to perform live on Television or any other live media. It is only audio and visual recordings for contracted artists that require record label approval. The label’s approval is also necessary when determining how those works are distributed,” the statement noted.
Taylor Swift had on Thursday called out Big Machine executives Scott Borchetta and Scooter Braun for stopping her from singing her old hits at the 2019 AMAs which is scheduled to hold on Sunday, November 24 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. The 29-year-old also said that the label had blocked her from featuring these songs in an upcoming Netflix documentary.
Swift who is set to receive this year’s Artist of the Decade award at the AMAs took to social media to pour out her frustration saying “I just want to be able to perform MY OWN music. That’s all I’m asking.” The “Me!” singer stated that her team had tried to sort matters out privately with her former record label but to no avail. “Right now, my AMA performance, the Netflix documentary and every other recorded event I am scheduled to play until November of 2020 are a question mark,” she said.
Responding to Swift’s claims, Big Machine issued a statement saying that they never stopped the singer from performing at the AMAs or blocked her Netflix special. “In fact, we have no right to stop her from doing live performances anywhere,” the statement reads.
Sometime in August, Taylor Swift announced that she plans on re-recording her first five albums as soon as she is legally allowed to do in November 2020. The announcement came after the Grammy winner and Big Machine executives, Borchetta and Braun fell out. The talent manager had purchased the record label and also acquired Swift’s back catalog of master recordings, a move that the singer kicked against.
