A lesser-known artist shared a cover of an unreleased Taylor Swift song earlier this month, shaking up the mega superstar’s fandom with a rollercoaster of emotions. Swifties instantly jumped to conclusions that their fave songbird had possibly given away the track to the other singer in question. The song TikTok and the rest of the Internet has been buzzing about is “Need,” which is believed to be an unreleased “vault song” from the pop sensation’s album “Lover.”
Lesser-known American singer covers Taylor Swift’s previously leaked track
Before Steven Wilmot (@stevew7373) posted the “Need” cover on TikTok on Feb 13, the song took Swifties by surprise in February 2023, which is when it supposedly leaked online. However, all versions of the track were eventually removed from social media, with Taylor Swift’s label Universal Music Group taking action and wiping it off YouTube as well, per USA Today.
Nevertheless, that didn’t stop Swift’s fan army from keeping tab of the song’s lyrics, with fan sites like Taylor Swift Switzerland. The Swiss fan club’s blog describes “Need” as a “ reject from Taylor’s seventh studio album, Lover (2019)… In the song, Taylor confesses to needing her partner’s love.”
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Even with the traces of the unreleased tune wiped off the internet, Swifties ended up documenting its lyrics, which ultimately matched with the lines Wilmot sang in his recording.
Steven Wilmot faces criticism for covering the unreleased track
26-year-old Steven Wilmot remembered to credit Taylor as a writer and producer on music platforms like Spotify and Apple Music when he shared his rendition of the track online. However, the aftermath wasn’t one brimming with praise. Instead, he got flak for using the Eras Tour artist’s song that never made it to her own album.
Expert weighs in on validity of his ‘cover’
“For songs that have been recorded and released, there is a compulsory mechanical license,” said Janice Jackson, the owner of Travelers Hollow Music in Nashville. This compulsory license is a legal copyright provision that allows anyone to record and distribute a cover of a song already released on the commercial platform.
Even without explicit permission, artists can cover someone else’s song by filing notice and making accountings. Even though Swift’s “Need” is not registered ASCAP or BMI, non-profit orgs that license music. Neither does the song have physical copy nor is it posted on the US Copyright Office database with the rest of her discography.
Nonetheless, the track does have a recording of sorts, which was leaked in 2023. “Once the song is set on paper or there’s a recording — which I’m sure Taylor did — it’s considered copyrighted in the eyes of the law,” the expert continued. When databases that license music don’t have the mentioned song, the artist covering it would have to get a license directly from Swift’s label Universal.
Singer continued reiterating that his version was only a ‘cover’
For his part, Wilmot clarified on TikTok, “‘Need’ is a song written and produced completely by Taylor. I have received a mechanical license so I can do a cover song of hers and she gets paid all royalties which is why she is credited and which millions of people have done (including unreleased music). He further settled, “I have never claimed to Taylor or her team. I do not own the credits to this song. Taylor owns full credit. I didn’t expect this song to blow up like it did.”
Wilmot’s version was posted with an image cover that took after Taylor Swift’s “Lover” artwork with the whole pink and blue clouds and pink cursive letters aesthetic. In a follow-up comment, Steven added, “As stated yesterday, the song will be removed off streaming services to get credits and artwork cover fixed. This is just a cover! It’ll be back up soon once the changes are made!”
His repeated affirmations that his version of “Need” was nothing more than a “cover” then reassured Swift’s fans that she hadn’t, in fact, sold her unreleased song to the artist.
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Taylor Swift’s unreleased song’s cover deleted temporarily
It’s not that Wilmot’s cover was only flooded with hate comments. Many even rose to his support, expressing how much they loved it. Yet, the complicated situation led him to temporarily get rid of the track. “Due to all the issues with the song having incorrect credits and some people criticising it for the artwork cover, I have temporarily removed it from streaming to fix these issues but it will be back up soon!” he wrote in yet another TikTok post.
In a follow-up post, Wilmot seemingly ended up breaking some hearts. Several TikTok users had commented on his previous posts that they were waiting for his “Need” cover to come back online, as they couldn’t get it out of their mind.
Bad news blows up: ‘Need’ cover removed permanently?
However, he released another statement, which was plugged with Swift’s song “Mean,” clearly reflecting the truckload of backlash he had met with in the past few days. “Due to the criticism that I’ve been receiving lately for making a COVER SONG, which millions of people have done and still do, I have decided to remove NEED completely.”
Again laying it out there that he had received the mechanical license to cover Taylor’s song, he reiterated, “… have never once said I was Taylor or her team, however speculations and clowning got way out of hand which caused many people speculating and spreading false information around and purposefully twisting things around. And for that, I’ve decided this. I appreciate all the support that you have given to me and I hope you enjoy the future music I do put out and hope you join me as an artist.”
Yet another music journey drowned out by chaotic speculations and misinformation.