 When Swift was first signed to Big Machine Records , it was a new and extremely small record label , the smallest in Nashville , Tennessee , that consisted of approximately twelve employees and her as the only signed artist . At some point , Swift realized that it would be more difficult for her to achieve success through a small label , than in a larger label , constricting their contacts and making it nearly impossible to embark on concert tours and have presenter or performer slots on award shows . In addition , as the only signed artist , she could not ask for favors and only had herself to encourage the hope that scenarios would eventually change . Swift described the scenario as an " uphill climb " and said , " There was this moment where I sat there and was like , ‘ When are we going to get a fighting chance ? We ’ re the smallest record label in Nashville , but we want this really bad . ’ " After reassuring to herself that it would be different in the future , she wrote the beginning of " Change " . She let the track sit for a while , waiting for a remarkable event to trigger its completion . She then completed the track the day after she won the Horizon Award at the 2007 Country Music Association Awards and saw Scott Borchetta , the president of Big Machine Records , crying . " That ’ s when I finished [ it ] , because I knew I couldn ’ t finish it until something like that happened . It was absolutely the most amazing night of my life , getting to see the emotion of all the people who worked so hard for me . " 
