How Songs Make Money is a podcast series about music rights and the income streams associated with songwriting and composition, hosted by Dr Ellis Jones, Lecturer in Music and Management at the University of Leeds.

This week's episode is produced by Rose Pia Scotti, a member of the 2024/25 cohort on our Music Management MA course. Rose’s episode tells the story of Taylor Swift’s masters dispute, unpacking key terminology, introducing us to key individuals and companies involved, and drawing on various sources to give us a sense of the cultural and social impact of this case. This episode was recorded in May 2025.

Music excerpts are used only for the purposes of criticism and review under the ‘fair dealing’ exception of UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

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All views expressed on this podcast are those of the speakers, and do not necessarily represent the views of the University of Leeds, the School of Music, or any other organisation. Nothing in this podcast should be interpreted as business or legal advice.

How Songs Make Money is created and assembled by Ellis Jones, with contributions from students on the University of Leeds, Music Management MA course. This series is edited by Nikolai Klimanski. Our theme music is also written and produced by Nik Klimanski, and is included with permission. This series of How Songs Make Money is supported by ‘Research Boost’ funding from the Leeds Arts and Humanities Research Institute, and enabled by Digital Education Service’s Podcasting Pilot. Special thanks to Sam Wyman for their support, as well as to Angela Hulme, Mia Windsor, Liev Cherry, and Michelle Schneider.