Will it ever be possible to explain Taylor Swift‘s ascent from young country singer to this era‘s dominant pop culture icon? To some, her skilful use of social media to shape and command an almost religious fan community are the future of the music industry. Others feel she is reinvigorating seemingly lost values: solid songwriting, traditional shows, physical sales. One thing‘s for certain: Her fame has by now reached a level that seemed to have disappeared with the industry‘s crisis towards the turn of the century. One project in particular has contributed to and cemented her success: the re-recording of her early album catalogue, which is now hitting another high with the release of her fifth album 1989.
The idea is not entirely new. Re-recordings of original songs or entire albums were fairly commonplace in the 50s and 60s until labels responded with more restrictive contracts and made the practice all but impossible. Out of the blue, the approach is
