#i've seen the discussion go back and forth without participating in it

[notdefendingtaylor]

hi!! i saw u say smth about taylor's whole master thing being dishonest and im a little lost can u please explain? (ex swiftie here)

oh yes! well the basics are these:

she made statements when she started the re-record project about not being given a chance to buy her masters despite having "pleaded" for it, and that she "learn[ed] about Scooter Braun's purchase of [her] work when it was announced to the world" (x). the implication she made was that the ONLY offer she ever received was a one-for-one deal: she makes one new album, receives the rights to one old one in return. that's what most swifties seem to believe was her ONLY option to own her masters, and I did too initially.

but she was demonstrably in talks with BMR herself to own not just her music but every produced image of her - these discussions date back as far back as 2018. they are memorialized by contract notes between the two parties that were negotiating, Taylor's own company and Big Machine Records. I've seen the screens of those attorney responses in a few places, including the documentary that was released showing both sides of the story, but here is a good master list that includes them: https://www.reddit.com/r/SwiftlyNeutral/comments/1aiwj5s/a_complete_timeline_of_taylors_masters_situation/

This is extremely credible to my eye, as someone who works with contract terms and finalization of contracts. The typical formula is notes back and forth between parties, noting which terms are firm and not up for negotiation, and ideally the parties end up meeting closer to the middle on the items they are willing to budge on. If they can't meet in the middle, they walk away from the sale, which Taylor reportedly did.

If she was in talks to this extent to own her masters for a flat purchasing price, then she was not rug pulled by the sale of her work, especially since her dad was a non-majority shareholder in BMR. The sale to Scooter had to go to a vote with the shareholders and Scott either recused himself from the vote or may have had a proxy participate for him. He made a cool $15m on the sale of HER work to HER enemy.

In the timeline I linked, there is evidence of friendly texts back and forth with Taylor and Scott Borchetta, the record exec who had basically developed her as an emerging talent through BMR, and which Scott had invested his own money in through that non-majority share purchase when she started out. These texts occurred after her decision to move on without purchasing her catalogue and try her luck elsewhere with a new label.

It's entirely possible the 'they took it from me, I never had the chance to own my own words' narrative would never have taken that shape if it had been sold to anyone but Ithaca Holdings, owned by Scooter Braun, whom she detested over years of online spats involving him, Bieber and Kanye. I am not discrediting her feelings there, JB and Kanye have been online trolls throughout their careers, Scooter definitely had his own cult of personality going on when he was managing a huge chunk of the world's top popstars.

Taylor's outcry sounded righteous on its face, and she used the language of consent to describe how she felt about it, but the key points are these:

Most importantly, Taylor never owned her masters and therefore they were never taken from her. It's not typical for a brand new artist to own their masters right out the gate, for reasons I will make clearer below. But they could not be 'stolen' as they were never hers.

Borchetta essentially discovered, developed, promoted, and cultivated Taylor as an artist from the time she was playing small venues in Nashville to being the world's most talked-about star in the late 2010s. Given that image AND artistry are both crucial, promotion is crucial, and the funding for ads, release events and collabs (like her early Target special edition releases), photoshoots, album art, etc etc all have to come from somewhere- the artist typically doesn't foot that bill, the record label does. It's part of the production costs of an album. The record company's ability to retain rights to the album masters reflects that investment on their part.

Taylor wasn't looped in on Ithaca's bid to purchase her catalogue most likely due to an NDA binding the negotiating parties. Not being included does not mean being deliberately deceived.

Taylor's contract starting out was fairly standard if not slightly better for her than is standard for brand new talent because her dad owned shares in the record label. That doesn't mean she had tons of leverage, but certainly more than most.

Just because Taylor FEELS something was unjust, doesn't mean it was a deliberate insult or sabotage or theft, and she appears to give BMR virtually no credit for their massive investment in developing her talents. Even if all the words were hers to every song (...lol), a completed album doesn't emerge fully formed from one person's mind. There are so many other factors involved like production, logistics, arranging promotion including interviews and ads, distribution, tie-in products. I don't know everything about that side of the business but I know Taylor couldn't have done things on the scale she did working out of her house like an indie artist doing their own promotion and self-publishing.

In conclusion- Taylor DID have the chance to outright buy her masters, but the deal fell through due to disagreements between her and BMR on terms. Scooter had the ability to bid for her music and he succeeded, but AFTER she had already decided to start at another label and say goodbye to her masters anyway. She exchanged cordial words with Scott Borchetta before the sale to Scooter, but her attitude soured simply because of WHO bought her masters. Then, she had the opportunity to shape a new narrative...

[greywindys]

Didn't want to add on to the OP, but I'm curious about the current commenting trends for fanfiction these days. TBH, it hasn't been my experience, but I've always participated in fandoms where there were there were adult (as in age, not specifically NSFW) communities and you can find a good number of people who practice fandom The Old Way and have no issue leaving comments or reaching out. I'm also an internet hermit lol, so I'm not producing as fast as possible or trying to join every discord and social media site for interaction. I'm happy posting here and there, getting 5 or so comments, and chilling. So I could easily be missing something.

That being said, I don't know if I'm on board with putting this on private friend servers, bookclub servers and whatnot. People have a right to their privacy. People will also talk amongst friends and smaller communities regardless, it's inevitable, and has aaalways happened. I've received random comments like "I saw this recommended on Instagram," or "My friends all reached out to me freaking out when you update," and so on, throughout my entire time in fandom as a writer. Do ever hear from any of those people? No idea. Of course I get curious! But I've never felt disappointed that they discussed with their friend rather than leave me a comment. Because it's just sort of a basic reality of online fandoms and human relationships in general. I'm definitely guilty of linking a fic I like to a friend with a few sentences about why I'm recommending it, without leaving a comment on the fic itself. Additionally, fic "etiquette" is always changing, and I can see how it can be exhausting to not know what the author wants in a comment/interaction. I've seen authors gets pissed and block over comments that read as pretty benign to me. On an individual level, I've always read comment with the best faith interpretation, and I always encourage and engage with clarifying questions, respectful critiques and so forth. Having private spaces to share unfiltered thoughts, imo, might be the only place a reader feels comfortable truly discussing what they think. While I think it would be fun to be a part of those convos (the good and the bad), I don't think it's something I'm entitled to.

But on the other hand, and to argue with myself, I do think fic writer are underappreciated. Unless you've been through the process of planning out a scene, spending hours on research, drafting/re-writing, planning and changing your plan as you go, publishing it and then waiting to see if you're going to be met with love, hate, silence, or whatever, you aren't aware of how the time, stress and labor goes into writing. Comments genuinely mean the world. I go back to read old comments to this day to remind myself of what I can do. I can't speak for every author out there, but know that a lot of us are happy with an emoji, or a single sentence describing your reaction. I do hope comments don't die out entirely, because fanfiction is such an important part of any fandom.

[nerdygaymormon]

Oh you'd probably be able to explain! So, my dad asked for his records to either be moved to a different ward and if they won't, he wants his records "sent to Salt Lake". What does that mean, moving records to Salt Lake? The situation behind my dad wanting this is that a man that is breaking the law caught up in a real estate scandal and dispute has just been put in as one of the bishop's counselors, and multiple people in the ward have brought up their concerns(as he's wronged them personally, financially, etc), refused to raise their hand in sustaining him, and the bishopric and stake leadership have all met with my dad and told him "forgive", while my dad and this man and many others are in a current and active legal dispute, and they set the man apart already.

Anyways, when my dad asked for his records to be sent to Salt Lake, everyone acted like it was a huge deal. What does that mean? Is it actually a big deal?

To move records to a different ward within the stake is easy. All it requires is the approval of the stake president. If he approves, then one of the ward clerks has to be instructed to move the record.

Either the ward clerk in the new ward has to pull his records over or the ward clerk in his current ward has to push it over (interestingly, stake leaders do not have the ability to move membership records in or out of a ward).

I've worked with 2 stake presidents and neither of them has refused to allow someone to move their record to a different ward.

I've seen it happen for someone who could attend the morning ward but not a later ward, so each year their record shifted as the wards rotate schedules. But usually it's because a person feels so strongly about somebody and doesn't want to be in the same ward (most often I've seen it for people who get divorced and don't want to attend the same ward as their ex).

My stake presidents would rather the person continue attending and participating in church, and thus have approved such requests

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To send his membership records to Salt Lake City is no biggie and actually happens all the time, but usually for someone who has moved and we don't know where they live. Although, SLC will often send the record back to the ward as that's the last known address, and it becomes a bit of a game of toss, with each sending the record back and forth until someone comes up with a lead on where the person may have moved to.

I've never heard of a record being sent to SLC if the person's address is known. If your dad removes his address or changes it to a different location, that may keep SLC from sending it back to the ward where he actually lives

I know someone who changed his address to the stake center. His ward sent his record to SLC and they sent it to the ward where the stake center is located and no one knew where to find him. I occasionally run into him, so he still lives in the area, but this way no one can bother the people where he used to live to get a clue on where he moved to.

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Your dad is free to attend any ward he wants, even if the stake president didn't give permission to move his records. All it means is that your dad can't hold a calling in that ward, won't be assigned ministering brothers, and won't be able to renew his temple recommend because the bishop of that ward can't do anything without the membership record.

Actually, this once happened in my stake, a member started attending a different ward and didn't want to discuss why and wouldn't go back to the ward where she lived. Eventually the bishop of the ward she attended asked the stake president for permission to pull her record over to his ward.

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Okay, that whole "just forgive him" thing is rich. Did the man who was in the wrong apologize and make restitution? Restitution means returning something lost or stolen to its proper owner, and it also means making recompense for injury or loss.

Forgiving someone is a process. Just because it would be convenient for the stake president if your father decided to forgive and forget, it doesn't mean your dad has to skip his healing process.

Forgiveness is actually an act for our benefit, not that of the person who wronged us. It's one way of indicating that person's behavior no longer has sway over us. If your father isn't there yet, I don't think it's fair to rush him.

Even when your dad is ready to forgive, it doesn't mean he has to put himself in a position to be harmed again. A child who was abused by a parent may forgive them and also choose to have no contact with that parent. If your dad decides to forgive this man, he can still draw a boundary, like refusing to be under the ecclesiastical authority of a man who harmed him.

Easy forgiveness with a reset to how things were before often is desired by the one who committed the harm as a way to escape any consequences and allow them to still have influence on the person they wronged. That benefits the person who committed the wrong and not the person who was the victim.

[hirazuki]

In my whole life, I never thought that there would be this many innocuous words that now make me twitch when I hear them.

*pencils “misguided” onto ever-growing list*

[bookwyrminspiration]

WAIT. I'm late to the party but I just remembered all those anons were sending in "why I send you asks" and their reasons and I actually really want to participate, so I hope you will accept late applications?

The reason I send you so many asks is because you've just...built such a nice feeling that anything can be discussed, and it's never too niche or cringy or boring, and that's really relieving and amazing.

I'm sure you (along with many others) have realized by now, but I suffer from....really bad anxiety, both social anxiety and just in general, and it very often gets in the way of my life. Because of this and past experiences, I'm always very scared and hesitant to talk about my interests and my thoughts on anything.

But every time I've sent you an ask, even if it was, in retrospect, probably really annoying to read through the one hundred "sorry"s and "my bad"s, you've always been nothing but kind and interested in my ideas, and that was just...so surprising. Because I never really knew anyone who was willing to talk about anything, and it was just...really amazing to meet someone who was! Especially because I love and am interested in so many different things and kind of need someone to bounce ideas at. And it was really cool to see someone that was unashamed of their own interests and thoughts, but didn't make others feel bad for having different ideas.

Every time I send you an ask, you always have something interesting to say back. Something I hadn't thought of or considered, or a query that would make me rethink my own theories, or just a very well-thought-out answer to a question. I remember sending in tons of asks about the wings AU before it was released, and writing those was probably the highlight of my day, because I knew you'd take them and run with the ideas, and do your best to match my energy, and I was really grateful for that. And you were always willing to dig deeper, to think "but what if there was more?" and that's just...incredible! I don't have any other word for it!

I love sending you asks because you don't dismiss an idea or deem it as stupid, and you're just...such a kind and wonderful person that can make even the most obscure subject infinitely more interesting than before, and you never fail to make me consider things again, to expand my thoughts and views, and I'm really grateful for that.

So, because it should definitely be said by now, thank you!

And, well, that's why I love sending you asks :]

- pyro

there is no timeline so there's no way to be late! and I'm answering this a few days after you sent this, so if you believe yourself to be late then we can both be late together :D. you are fully welcome to participate if you want to (which you said you did)! it was mostly just a random question I had because i'm just as analytical with myself as I am with keeper, and knowing how other perceive and think of me is helpful for that--and I was curious about how i'd aquired so many asks so quickly, and then you all just turned it into complimenting quil hours for some reason !! (but on to your ask before I get even more distracted)

(note from a quil who has answered all of this: got very long so that's why there's a readmore! i love you /p)

this means so much to me--specifically your use of "built" because I do try pretty hard to maintain a positive atmosphere and welcome everyone in and treat everyone with the same attention. it didn't just fall into place, i try to be encouraging to everyone and support all the amazing work--art, writing, ideas, etc--I see from people. (note: i've been wanting to do a thing where I ask for fic/art/other recommendations from others (can be friends or their own) so i can go through and reblog a bunch of them with comments and the like, I just want to get through more of my asks before I start something like that). But you're right--nothing is too niche! there's so many details in the story it's impossible for one person to notice anything, so people bringing up the obscure and their own thoughts makes the story richer and more fleshed out for everyone else! and i think it's really cool to just see what other people focus on (like I said, my analysis isn't limited to characters, but I'm not like dissecting you all to understand each of you in a creepy way or anything. I just like to get a better sense of someone so I can respond in a way more tailored to them when we interact)

anxiety can really suck, so as someone who also has anxiety i am giving you a comforting hug if you'd like one. it genuinely impacts everything you do and think about, rewriting how you experience life. a single, inconsequential experience to someone else can literally change major aspects of how we think, which makes interactions so scary sometimes. i remember things people said years ago and still base my actions around them, but those people have absolutely no recollection of ever saying it, but just the fear of having done something wrong once permanently altered my thinking. (this is not to make this about me, I'm just trying to show I understand by sharing an experience of my own).

reading through all your "i'm sorry"s and "my bad"s wasn't annoying and never will be. you have never had anything to apologize for, and I know that sometimes you feel you need to enter a conversation and first apologize for being there, but I'm thrilled to have you here and always love seeing you in my inbox. I don't know how to articulate this properly, but I'm going to try. i saw your apologies and your apprehension as...a puzzle? that's absolutely not the right word but I can't think of the right one so please let me explain (I don't mean to imply you're like something to be solved or a problem in any way. words can be difficult and I'm trying to describe something very intangible rn, so I hope this doesn't sound bad). I didn't see it as annoying (you're never annoying), I saw it like it was something to work through, and while it's not my job or anything to help other's with their personal problems, it was like if I could just provide one space where I could encourage you (not just you, but anyone) as a friend to try shifting your language and start thinking of yourself more positively, then I wanted to give that.

because I am interested in your ideas! and I want to be kind and welcoming to you! but I also want you to be kind to yourself, so any impact I've had to give anyone a safer, less scary space is really cool. I don't know if that made sense, but I'm not trying to talk down to you or anything or be like I'm this high and mighty figure harboring lost souls or something, just that connection is important and I like being there for people. kinda worried that sounded bad because it feels worded strange but I'm trying to reciprocate and say i appreciate you and am happy to talk about anything!

i love bouncing ideas back and forth and you are more than welcome to say anything and everything you're thinking about. talking to you is always an absolutely joy and I get so excited when you send me an ask and when you're reading my response, because it often feels like this like...buzz? like we're just vibing on this frequency and it makes it so much fun to throw ideas back and forth and just listen to each other talk. i am very glad to have surprised you and met you! I don't know a lot of people like myself either, so having someone like you interact with me and just go all out on these little things and what we personally like about different parts of the so much fun. a lot of the other people I know irl feel like they just scratch the surface, they say things just to get credit for it and to appear like they know what they're talking about while ignoring all these other things that have such an impact, so it's amazing to have found someone else who looks at everything and anything like I do. my brain really is "a little bit of everything all of the time" so knowing you have so many different interests too is really cool. i am giving you an internet high five and pretending you aren't so far away.

I spent so much of my life being quiet when I had so many thoughts, so now that I have this kind of outlet I just! want to say everything I can! i want to look at everything from every perspective possible! the world is a huge collection of things tied together and I love following the strings to find the connected pieces! but I think that's a way of approaching the world not a lot of people share (I could be wrong), so it's really cool to hear you think my thought process is interesting!! my brain is practically composed entirely of questions. any subject at any time of the day and nearly all of my thoughts are just wanting to know more and trying to understand things, so having that opportunity to ask further questions and just learn things (about what other's thing, how things work, etc) is so much fun. you might've seen me ask some questions of other's in a few of the asks I answer, but those barely scratch the surface of just how many I have. my handle is in_quil_sitive (inquisitve) on nearly every social media platform (except for this one) for a reason.

I remember some of your asks from before the wings au was published, too. those were absolutely incredible, and I got a rush of excitement every time I saw you sent another. those were the the highlight of my week, too!! your enthusiasm and excitement for something I hadn't even posted yet gave me so much motivation to continue and you helped me think through so many future ideas and consider things from new perspectives. i know i specifically wrote that you inspired one chapter in the notes, but you've had an impact on every single chapter of this story/ it wouldn't be what it is without you, and I mean that with complete sincerity. you were the one who made me think "what if there was more" so I could make this au even better and work towards something bigger. I just have so many thoughts about everything all of the time, I can't go more than a few minutes without being distracted by a different train of thought, but knowing there was someone who would want to hear all the weird, disjointed ideas i'd strung together and composed into a more cohesive format was so cool. there's just so much to think about!!

I probably sound repetitive at this point but I love answering your asks because you're so receptive to the way i say things and it's like you're actually listening and want to hear what I specifically have to say, not just the general ideas. you want to know my unique, personalized opinions and perspectives and don't just dismiss them when they're not what you expect to hear or aren't generic. you're incredibly kind, too, I hope you know. I love the description of how I can "make even the most obscure subject infinitely more interesting than before." that is such a meaningful compliment to me. I just keep thinking about this line over and over again and it just...it really means a lot. because you're saying it's me that interests you and not just what I talk about. I could talk about anything and you'd still want to interact with me and that's so fucking nice. I hope you know the same goes for you. we can challenge each other's thinking together and make things even deeper and more complex before together <33.

thank you for being here and being my friend, pyro. talking to you is always one of the highlights of my day and gives me a very positive feeling that I carry around for a while. I do this thing sometimes where I film myself to later observe my behaviors in the middle of intense emotions to understand myself better (back to that whole analysis thing again), but it's not just negative things, it's also when I'm really excited or pleased with something and jumping around and stimming and all that, and some of those are from when I interact with you. that might sound a little weird but I mean it positively, as in talking with you makes me ecstatic.

I have said. so many things. so I will stop (for now). but I really appreciate having you in my life <33