I loathe the idea of Taylor Swift getting any more airplay and/or notoriety than she already gets. However, the latest music news is really a lesson for all musicians–avoid megalomania at all costs. If you’re lucky enough to rise to the top, get over yourself–you’re still only one human being on a small rock in the middle of a universe 15 billion light-years across. I don’t care how many of today’s musical plebs buy your record, you’re still irrelevant in the master plan, dig? (And you’ll likely never be Miles Davis anyway). It is more than probable that Swift’s music will be an aberration in the not too distant future, buried along with all the other over-zealous, cookie-cutter machinations of Hollywood, but I digress…

In her latest narcissistic endeavor, Swift has decided to re-record many (if not all) of her original recordings because–wait for it–her record company sold her original masters (which they owned btw) to someone she didn’t like! You heard right–a deal which is pretty standard in the music industry to new comers (which usually come with hefty signing bonuses and advances) has now gotten Taylor’s “goat” because she has ill feelings toward the new owner of her recordings. Essentially, BMLG (Big Machine Label Group) sold to Ithaca Holdings recently for a lofty $300 million, and this deal included Taylor Swift’s catalog with the label.

Ithaca holdings is owned by Scott Braun, whom Swift has intense personal hatred for. Why? We really have no idea. There are some rumblings around about “bullying”, which of course is rich, coming from the self-appointed world referee of bullying (and at the same time, one of the biggest bullies in the music industry herself); hypocrite much? It is alleged that Braun’s clients (Kanye West, Justin Beiber, Kim K.) used their positions within the company to bully Taylor swift, but it is really not clear what they did. We know that Kanye name dropped her in one of his singles; we also know that Kim Kardashian leaked a phone call where Kanye and Taylor conversed about the lyric and the new song, with Swift supposedly okaying that lyric. Then all hell broke loose between them and there are bad feelings. Now Tay-Tay wants to waste everyone’s time (especially her fans) by re-creating her original material just so she can spite the new owner of her works. Forgetting the fact that most of her peeps have moved on from her teen years, perhaps she could entertain us with something new, or would that be too much too ask? Perhaps she has run out of ammo? The sad trombone intensifies!

So what’s the moral of this story? First of all, record execs are business guys and many are materialistic assholes for sure. However, that’s the price you pay to become famous at 15. There is no way Taylor could have legally signed an agreement at that age, so she had to have handlers and/or mentors to help her with the agreement process. It is likely that these same people, including Tay-Tay herself, understood the terms and agreed with them–and then she later changed her mind because she didn’t like the outcome. Well, sucks to be famous and worth north of $300M, eh? Yeah, those are real salty tears…I think I’ll boil some water for pasta. The truth is, any record label deal would normally own the masters (unless you’re Prince and/or have an amazing track record where you call the shots). Otherwise, you’re just the new pleb to the record deal. Remember, these guys care about money, not you! To me, this is just sour grapes from someone who has a bigger megaphone than most.

Secondly, without the help of BMLG, it is likely that Swift would be another no name blonde singer. Does she have talent? Of course! But how many other, perhaps less “pretty” types get passed on who could sing circles around her? It seems that Taylor could easily write and record new music for her fans, which would show some integrity, rather than to re-hash old arguments. Why spend all the time and drama? While, as musicians, we have a personal attachment to our creations–these are songs she wrote in her teen years! Is she saying that this material is her best work? Why all the trouble for songs that will be relegated to the Swift archives? I would like to see Taylor move forward with the correct posture, rather than sink into the depths of this music business nonsense.

Last and most important, I think what this story really symbolizes is the insane amount of narcissism that accrues inside the mind of the rising star. Swift made a deal, she made tons of money in the process and now thinks she is so big and powerful that she can wave her hand and have everyone bow to her demands. The truth is: the second she releases any of her “re-recorded” material she will be sued. Most record contracts have provisions that disallow any other recordings to be released (of the same material) other than what the record label puts out. Kind of makes sense, doesn’t it? If you spend insane amounts of dough marketing an artist, you don’t want that same artist to turn around and cut you out of the deal later on if/when they receive fame and fortune. This is exactly what Tay-Tay is doing and she thinks she is in the right! While we understand the hard feelings, the reality of this situation is that Taylor doesn’t like Scott for whatever reason and is now trying to publicly bully him into some type of compromise. From the self-appointed referee of bullies, this is some real face palm hypocritical shit. My guess is she relents after she realizes the millions of hard-earned dollars that she’ll waste in court.

Musicians do yourself a favor–make music because you love music. If you decide one day to sign a record deal, realize that you are going to lose some skin, whether you like it or not. That’s the price you pay to have those guys in your corner. If money is your sole aim in life, don’t be surprised when it turns around and bites you in the ass! Otherwise, make music simply for the love of music and art. If it gets picked up, awesome! If not, who cares? It’s still a testament to your drive and creativity to produce and create original music. Most important, don’t let the creation of music stoke your ego. Remember that there are always better, more creative players out there and it is a privilege to be recognized at all in a universe that has such amazing talent. Contribute what you can, respect it all!