Taylor Swift's fourth re-recorded album transforms an act of business reclamation into a cultural event, shifting 1.6 million units in its first week and becoming 2023's best-selling American album. The synth-pop architecture remains faithful to the 2014 original whilst revealing a decade's worth of vocal refinement, with five vault tracks adding unexpected dimension to an already canonical work.

What began as a master recordings dispute has become something stranger: proof that Swift's audience will enthusiastically purchase the same songs twice, turning artistic control into chart dominance.