Ask anyone, who is the biggest female star in the music business right now, and they’ll tell you…

It’s Taylor Swift.

She’s been called many things, left many broken hearts in her wake, sold more records and downloads than any of her peers, and now she’s back in the headlines for striking a new record deal that includes real financial benefits for thousands of other musicians.

T-Swift, as she’s affectionately known by millions of fans, just broke free from her lifelong record label, Big Machine, who signed her at the tender age of 15. And within weeks, she’s signed a new record deal with the Universal Music Group, which is unparalleled in terms of music ownership and royalty provisions.

Under the new deal, Universal Music has agreed to hand over a portion of their profits from all its Spotify shares in future.

Not just to her … but to ALL the artists represented by the label.

Swift will also own the masters of all future albums, which hasn’t been the case with her previous six multi-million selling records.

It’s not the first time that she’s derailed the music business gravy train though…

In 2014, she refused to allow the streaming of her fifth studio album, 1989, on Spotify or any other streaming service.

A year later she took on Apple Music over their decision not to pay artists for music its subscribers listened to during their three-month free trial, eventually causing them to back down and change their policy.

In 2017, under the new terms, she finally uploaded her full catalogue of music to streaming services.

And that’s not where it ends when it comes to acts of kindness performed by the femme fatale Robin Hood of the music world…

Swift is a known philanthropist, and has been recognized numerous times for her dedication to advocacy and “inspiring others through action”.

But she also puts her money where her mouth is. In 2008 she donated $100 000 to the Red Cross. In 2010, during a telethon, she donated $500 000 towards flood relief and in 2014 she donated another $100 000 towards cancer research.

A final word from Universal Music Chairman and CEO, Lucian Grainge: “Few artists in history approach Taylor Swift’s combination of massive global hits and creative brilliance. She is so multi-talented, she can achieve anything. I have such enormous respect for Taylor, in particular for her use of her hard-earned influence to promote positive change.”