Taylor Swift Furious At Scooter Braun’s New Big Machine Deal: Details

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Taylor Swift opened up about her disappointment with Big Machine Records and superstar manager Scooter Braun, who recently purchased all of Swift’s music catalog in a new deal with the label.

On June 30, Swift posted a lengthy note on Tumblr explaining everything. “For years I asked, pleaded for a chance to own my work. Instead, I was given an opportunity to sign back up to Big Machine Records and ‘earn’ one album back at a time, one for every new one I turned in,” she wrote. “I walked away because I knew once I signed that contract, Scott Borchetta would sell the label, thereby selling me and my future. I had to make the excruciating choice to leave my past behind. Music I wrote on my bedroom floor and videos I dreamed up and paid for from the money I earned in bars, then clubs, then arenas, then stadiums.”

Swift continued, “Some fun facts about today’s news: I learned about Scooter Braun’s purchase of my masters as it was announced to the world. All I could think about was the incessant, manipulative bullying I’ve received at his hands for years.”

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For more explanation, Scooter Braun, who manages Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Kanye West, Demi Lovato and more, purchased Big Machine Label Group for over $300 million through his holding company Ithaca Ventures. Swift was signed to Big Machine for over 10 years before ultimately leaving the label in November 2018 and signing with Universal Music Group.

Scott Borchetta, President and CEO of Big Machine, released a statement saying it’s “time for some truth” regarding Swift’s post and that it’s “time to set some things straight.” “Taylor’s dad, Scott Swift, was a shareholder in Big Machine Records, LLC. We first alerted all of the shareholders on Thursday, June 20th for an official shareholder’s call scheduled for Tuesday, June 25th. On the 6/25 call the shareholders were made aware of the pending deal with Ithaca Holdings and had 3 days to go all over the details of the proposed transaction. We then had a final call on Friday, June 28th in which the transaction passed with a majority vote and 3 of the 5 shareholders voting ‘yes’ with 92% of the shareholder’s vote.”

Borchetta noted that “100% of all Taylor Swift assets were to be transferred to her immediately upon signing the new agreement. We were working together on a new type of deal for our new streaming world that was not necessarily tied to ‘albums’ but more of a length of time.”

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Many celebrities, friends, and fans have been taking sides. Halsey tweeted her support of Taylor as both a fan of her work and an artist herself. “Taylor Swift is a huge reason why I always insisted to write my own music…She deserves to own the painstaking labor of her heart…I am standing with her.”

Bieber, whom Braun discovered in 2008, posted on Instagram about the situation after Swift called him and West out for an Instagram from three years ago. “First of all I would like to apologize for posting that hurtful Instagram post, at the time I thought it was funny but looking back it was distasteful and insensitive.. I have to be honest though it was my caption and post that I screenshotted of Scooter and Kanye that said ‘taylor swift what up’ he didn’t have anything to do with it and it wasn’t even part of the conversation in all actuality he was the person who told me not to joke like that.. Scooter has had your back since the days you graciously let me open up for you!”

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Lovato, who recently signed with Braun, posted to her Instagram Stories that she has “dealt with bad people in this industry and Scooter is not one of them. He’s a good man. Personally, I’m grateful he came into my life when he did.”

Braun’s wife, Yael, responded to Swift’s post saying, “And girl, who are you to talk about bullying? The world has watched you collect and drop friends like wilted flowers. My husband is anything but a bully, he’s spent his life standing up for people and causes he believes in…Beyond that, it’s easy to see that the point of putting this out was to get people to bully him. You are supposed to be a role model, but continue to model bullying.”

Selena Gomez’s momager, Mandy Teefey, wrote her support to Swift, who has famously been her daughter’s long-time friend and supporter, on Instagram, “I wish I could give you a big hug right now! Thank you for speaking out about this and teaching future young artist about protecting themselves. I don’t understand the pleasure of power plays to simply hurt people!” She then tagged Yael saying she would “love to have a mom to mom meeting in private, drink some tea and have some real talk!!”

Nicky Nelson/WENN.com

Miley Cyrus, Cara Delevingne, Katy Perry, Danielle Haim, Todrick Hall, Iggy Azalea, Heidi Montag and more are showing their support for Swift in public. Fans also started the hashtag, #WeStandWithTaylor, to show support for the “You Need To Calm Down” singer.

In her Tumblr post, Swift says she’s now signed to a label that “believes I should own anything I create. Thankfully, I left my past in Scott’s hands and not my future. And hopefully, young artists or kids with musical dreams will read this and learn about how to better protect themselves in a negotiation. You deserve to own the art you make.”

She concludes, “I will always be proud of my past work. But for a healthier option, Lover will be out August 23. Sad and grossed out, [broken heart] Taylor.”

Braun has yet to publicly respond to the statement but has been posting screenshots to his Instagram of people defending him.

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