For Millennials. By Millennials.
The 11 times Grammys winner will receive the Songwriter Icon Award at an NMPA meeting. Taylor Swift is one of the four artists to win three Grammys for ‘Album of the Year’ award. Pretty huge. Right? The famous American singer and songwriter has also won 76 NMPA Song-composing Gold and platinum Awards. Additionally, her song ‘Blank Space’ topped the charts at the time of its release.
Besides being so amazing at what she does, Taylor is a celebrity activist who advocates for fair compensation for musicians. She has recently advocated for artists’ rights to their work and has even started re-recording her own masters.
Related: Taylor Swift praises activists for their fight against discrimination in honor of Pride Month
Woman of the Year?
Taylor Swift recently became the first woman to release three new albums that charted on the first spot of the Billboard 200 in less than a year. Yes, you heard it right. Even less than a year! She released three albums amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, when everything was uncertain in the world. She gave us Folkore, Evermore and the last one which was re-recorded, Fearless.
Listening to the lyrics, it’s clear that Taylor put her heart and soul on these creations – inviting fans into her small world that was bright, cheerful and hopeful.
It all started when she tweeted a picture during the first-wave pandemic and captioned it:
“Not a lot going on right now”
She was basically fooling her fans into thinking the songwriter wasn’t working on any song, when out of the blue, she unveiled not just ONE song but an entire album! And now she is to receive a NMPA songwriter icon award.
It makes sense that Taylor Swift is getting the NMPA award
The National Music Publishers’ Association works to preserve the property rights of American music publishers and their songwriting partners. The organization was created in 1917 with the goal of safeguarding and promoting the interests of musicians.
Hence, it makes perfect sense for Taylor Swift to receive this award as she’s adamant in owning all the music she makes from now on. She got into a disagreement with her previous record label, Big Machine Records, that didn’t sell the rights of her original records to her but rather to Scooter Braun’s company Ithaca Holdings. Later, Braun sold the rights to Shamrock Holdings for $300. Swift deemed Braun a ‘bully’ and wasn’t able to purchase her records back. So, when she couldn’t buy them, she decided to re-record all her old songs for her fans and called them ‘Taylor’s Version’.
The NMPA president and CEO, David Israelite, shared this regarding Taylor Swift getting the award:
“Taylor Swift has had an uncommon year of progress. She gave the world unfathomable songwriting when they required it most and she keeps on revamping the rulebook with regards to her profession. She has consistently distinguished as a lyricist first, and in doing so roused and raised innumerable different makers. Her promotion has lifted the whole innovative local area, and she has done it at incredible expense and hazard to her own profession. The dangers paid off, for her as well as for our whole industry, and there is nobody more meriting our Icon grant.