Scooter Braun addressed his drama with Taylor Swift in an interview with MSNBC on April 27. Speaking to Ari Melber, Scooter, 40, explained that he believes the “Style” singer, 32, “has every right” to re-record her original recordings and “pursue her masters,” which were purchased by Scooter’s media company, Ithaca Holdings, for $300 million in 2019. Although Taylor has publicly blasted his business move, Scooter clarified that he has no ill-will towards the Grammy Award winner.
“I wish her nothing but well, and I have zero interest in saying anything bad about her, because I’ve never said anything bad about her in the past and I won’t start now,” Scooter explained, before noting that “the only thing I disagree with is weaponizing a fanbase. ”
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Scooter, who represents Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, and Demi Lovato, among others, went on, “The artists I work with have very large fan bases. You don’t do that. It’s very dangerous. There’s people in that fan base who have mental health issues. There’s families involved and I think that’s very, very dangerous. I know the artists that sometimes will weaponize to say, ‘I know what it’s like to be ridiculed.’ I think that’s a very dangerous thing and I think that there’s a responsibility with a fanbase.”
When asked if he believes that situation has occurred in this instance with Taylor, Scooter responded, “That’s all I’ll say about that.” The music industry exec also noted that the “narratives” of him purchasing Taylor’s music from Scott Borchetta’s Big Machine Label Group without her knowledge and permission are untrue.
“The person who owned Taylor’s master throughout her career was not myself. When I was buying a record label, I actually said to that group that at any point if she comes back and wants to be part of this conversation please let me know because I wouldn’t do this deal,” he claimed. “I was shown an email that’s been out public now where she stated that she decided to move on from that negotiation and wasn’t interested in doing that deal anymore.”
After Scooter came into possession of Taylor’s music catalog in July 2019, she accused him of being a bully. Scooter later sold Taylor’s music rights to Shamrock Capital, and she responded by claiming that Scooter’s team allegedly wanted Taylor “to sign an ironclad NDA stating I would never say another word about Scooter Braun unless it was positive before we could even look at the financial records.” She also claimed that Shamrock Holdings contacted Taylor and “wanted to reach out before the sale to let me know, but that Scooter Braun had required they make no contact with me or my team, or the deal would be off.”
Justin Bieber, one of Scooter’s clients, has also taken aim at Taylor before. In August 2016, he posted a photo of himself and Kanye West with the caption, “Taylor Swift What Up.” Justin also mocked the video of Taylor being heavily drugged up after she got Lasik eye surgery in 2019.
Taylor is in the midst of re-recording her first six albums to reclaim ownership of her music. So far, she’s released Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and Red (Taylor’s Version).