In 2019, music executive Scooter Braun acquired Swift’s previous record label Big Machine, taking ownership of her back catalogue before selling the Master tapes to an investment fund for a reported $300m. Embroiled for several years in a subsequent dispute, Swift decided to take back control by embarking on the project to re-record her entire back catalogue. Having worked through 2008’s Fearless and 2010’s Speak Now, and with the release in 2022 of 2012’s Red, her fans are revisiting this integral moment of Taylor Swift’s career – which saw the emergence of her “pop era”, and the reinvention of herself.

In a controversial move, Swift had chosen to step away from her country roots towards a more “alt-pop” direction on 2012’s Red. She brought in Swedish pop mega-producer Max Martin as collaborator, and singles I Knew You Were Trouble and We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together combined her traditional guitar sound with a more diverse set of influences, from EDM to dubstep. When the album was released, she faced a Dylan-esque backlash from her core, US country fanbase, but the move also found her an entirely new audience, in scores of pop music fans around the world.