iHeart Radio, the network behind 850 stations nationwide, has failed to keep a promise to only play the recently re-recorded versions of Taylor Swift’s biggest hits, according to a report.
iHeart has played the original version of a Swift tune at least 626 times despite a “Taylor’s Version” being available — and 507 times since the network announced its pledge to support the 34-year-old’s re-released discography, according to Business Insider, which cited radio airplay data from six iHeart stations in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York.
In November 2021, iHeart CEO Tom Poleman said in a press release that “whenever Taylor re-records a new track, we immediately replace the old versions” — which the superstar said in a 2022 interview was “so heartwarming to me.”
That was shortly after Swift began releasing re-recorded versions of six of her albums to regain control of her musical catalog from music manager Scooter Braun, who bought the master recordings of Swift’s first half-dozen albums along with her former label, Big Machine Records, in 2019.
iHeart Radio vowed in 2022 to only play “Taylor’s Version” of Swift’s discography when available, though data from six stations in major US metros showed that the radio giant has since played the star’s original tracks 507 times. Getty ImagesStill, according to data from the six stations in major US cities, the radio behemoth played original versions of Swift’s songs an average of three times a day, according to BI.
Those half-dozen radio stations are just a fraction of iHeart’s 850-station empire, which includes more than 100 Top 40 and pop stations, as well as an adult contemporary station that’s also known to play Swift’s songs, BI reported.
This means the true number of non-“Taylor’s Version” tracks played by iHeart stations is likely much higher, per BI.
Swift began re-recording her old albums after a feud with Scooter Braun, who bought the master recordings of her first six albums along with Swift’s former label, Big Machine Records.
iHeart’s chief communications officer Wendy Goldberg insisted to BI that “we’ve played Taylor’s Version songs millions of times across our broadcast radio stations and they’re committed to ensuring that Taylor’s Version songs are the only ones we play, so they are scrubbing through our system and doing another thorough sweep to remove any incorrect versions.”
Representatives for iHeart Radio did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
Swift has since released “Taylor’s Version” of all but two albums in her discography — “Reputation” and her debut album released in 2006, “Taylor Swift.”
