How Taylor Swift took on ‘manipulative bully’ Scooter Braun over $300m masters sale & divided the music world
IT’S a feud that has split the music world in two - with bitter sniping between Camp Taylor and Camp Scooter.
But the rift between Taylor Swift and Scooter Braun has been reignited this week when it emerged the music manager has sold the rights to the singer’s back catalogue to an investment company for a hefty £225million ($300m).
The move comes as a blow to the Shake It Off star, who had been attempting to regain control of her first six albums - acquired by Braun last year when he bought Big Machine Records.
The 30-year-old singer - with a net worth of £358 million - has accused Braun of “incessant, manipulative bullying” and claims he was behind a “revenge porn” video made by his client Kanye West that depicted her naked in bed with other celebrities, including Donald Trump and sex offender Bill Cosby.
She has also accused Scooter Braun of roping Justin Bieber into ‘online bullying’ and says when she tried to buy her music rights back, he tried to force her to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) usually used “to silence an assault accuser.”
Stars including Cara Delevingne and Katy Perry back Swift’s stance against Braun, while Justin Beiber and Demi Lovato have backed their manager.
As the row erupts once again, we look back over the explosive feud between two titans of the music industry.
Scooter deal Swift's 'worst nightmare'
When 15-year-old Taylor Swift signed a recording contract with Scott Borchetta, who was in the process of setting up Big Machine Records, she was over the moon at her rosy future.
Her stockbroker Dad even bought a three per cent stake in the company, for £90,000.
But the very contract that gave her a shot at stardom has come back to bite her - by robbing her of her first six albums, and the pride she felt at their success.
In June last year, the record company was sold for £225million, giving Scooter Braun control of Taylor’s entire back catalogue.
Although she said she always knew the company could be sold, Taylor said she was “sad and grossed out” that the man she accused of relentlessly bullying her throughout her career now had control of her creative canon.
She said the deal - which she claims she knew nothing about until the ink was dry - was her “worst case scenario” and said she felt betrayed by Borchetta.
She posted an emotional Tumblr telling fans she made the “excruciating choice to leave behind my past. Music I wrote on my bedroom floor and videos I dreamed up and paid for from the money I earned playing in bars, then clubs, then arenas, then stadiums.”
She said she had been offered a deal which meant she could “earn” a past album back for every new one she produced but said she had to walk away because she knew Borchetta would sell the label, “thereby selling me and my future.”
While she was aware that meant her past masters would be sold, she added: “Never in my worst nightmares did I imagine the buyer would be Scooter.
“Any time Scott Borchetta has heard the words ‘Scooter Braun’ escape my lips, it was when I was either crying or trying not to.
“He knew what he was doing; they both did. Controlling a woman who didn’t want to be associated with them. In perpetuity. That means forever.”
She added that when she heard the news: “All I could think about was the incessant, manipulative bullying I’ve received at his hands for years.”
Swift then listed a string of examples accusing Kim Kardashian and Kanye West - then Braun’s client - of bullying.
Borchetta knew what he was doing; they both did. Controlling a woman who didn’t want to be associated with them. In perpetuity. That means forever.
Taylor Swift
She brought up a past row with Kanye West over the song Famous, with the line “Taylor Swift and I might still have sex” and claiming he made her a big name by jumping on stage hijacking her win at the VMA awards in 2009.
Referring to the video for the song, which contained a naked lookalike of her, she added: “His client Kanye West organized a revenge porn music video which strips my body naked.”
She also called out Kim Kardashian for taping a conversation Kanye had with Swift, when she appeared to endorse the song, then leaking it online - while calling her a snake.
Swift also posted a screengrab of a post by Braun’s protege Justin Bieber, which showed the duo together with West and the caption: “Taylor Swift What Up”.
She wrote on the picture: “This is Scooter Braun bullying me on social media when I was at my lowest point. He’s about to own all the music I have ever made.”
Demi Lovato, Justin Bieber and Cara Delevingne wade
Swift’s response to the initial sale sparked fury on both sides.
Scott Borchetta, who had been a close mentor for almost 15 years, disputed claims he had betrayed her and said she had made her own decision to give up the music when she left Big Machine to sign with Universal.
“Taylor had every chance in the world to own not just her master recordings, but every video, photograph, everything associated to her career. She chose to leave,” he said, adding that he had offered her a deal that gave her “100 percent of her assets”.
He also claimed he had told Swift about the sale by text and that her dad, still a shareholder, had been consulted - which she once again denied.
He also claimed he was totally unaware of any beef with Scooter Braun and had never seen her in tears over his behaviour, although he acknowledged he knew of “prior issues between Taylor and Justin Bieber.”
Justin Bieber apologised for the post with Kanye, acknowledging that “looking back it was distasteful and insensitive” but defended his pal Scooter, saying she had crossed a line.
“Scooter has had your back since the days you graciously let me open up for you!” he said.
Braun’s wife, Yael Cohen defended her husband and turned the table on Swift, calling her a bully.
In an Instagram post the 32-year-old philanthropist said: “Let’s get the facts straight. You were given the opportunity to own your masters, you passed.
“Interesting that the man you’re so “grossed out” by believed in you more than you believe in yourself.”
“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 entire life standing up for people and causes he believes in…”
Singer Halsey was the first to jump to Swift’s defence, saying: “She deserves to own the painstaking labour of her heart.”
“She added: She has surpassed all expectations of what any artist is even capable of… And it turns my guts that no matter how much power or success a woman has in this life, you are still susceptible to someone coming along and making you feel powerless out of spite.”
Pal Todrick Hall, a former client of Braun, also jumped in and branded Braun “evil”.
“He is an evil person who’s only concern is his wealth and feeding his disgusting ego,” he wrote.
“I believe he is homophobic & I know from his own mouth that he is not a Swift fan.”
In return, Demi Lovato, another of Braun's clients, slammed Hall for the "homophobic" label, adding: "I have dealt with bad people in this industry and Scooter is not one of them. He’s a good man."
Swift’s pal Cara Delevingne waded in to attack Bieber, pointing out the issue was about the treatment of women in the music industry.
“As a married man, you should be lifting women up instead of tearing them down because you are threatened," she said.
“This issue that @taylorswift is talking out is about far more than a picture and you know that. Take a step back and try and learn from this. We should all be on the same team. End of story.”
Furious fans also set up a petition on Swift’s behalf, asking for her to be allowed to record her old songs and rerelease her albums on a new record label.
The Change.org petition was signed by one Katy Perry, who wrote: “I stand with Taylor. Stay strong my friend.”
Urinating Scooter Braun mocked in The Man video
Never one to take anything lying down, Taylor quickly turned things on her enemies, spoofing Scooter Braun in the video for her single, The Man.
Dressing up as a besuited bloke, she is seen urinating on a wall containing graffiti of her album covers.
And next to the graffiti a sign reads: ";MISSING - IF FOUND RETURN TO TAYLOR SWIFT".
In August, the singer announced she would rerecord every one of the six albums that had been signed away.
“It’s something I’m very excited about doing,” she told Good Morning America, adding that she would be able to do so legally from November 2020.
At the beginning of this month, fans responded by tweeting #TaylorIsFree.
But even as she began the huge undertaking, she was still trying to buy back the masters from her nemesis.
Today’s news, that the investment company Shamrock has bought the masters, seems to have scuppered that hope - at least until the firm is “completely independent of Scooter Braun”, as she stated in her more-than-polite letter to the new owners.
Furious that her master had been sold “for a second time without my knowledge”, she revealed her own negotiations with Braun were scuppered when he tried to “silence me forever.”
In a new statement, she said Braun asked her to sign an “ironclad” NDA forbidding her to mention his name, other than in a positive light, before he would even quote her a price on the rights.
“So, I would have to sign a document that would silence me forever before I could even have a chance to bid on my own work,” she wrote.
“My legal team said this is absolutely NOT normal, and they’ve never seen an NDA like this presented unless it was to silence an assault accuser by paying them off.”
She also revealed that Shamrock had been barred from telling her about their deal with Braun until it was signed.
Swift posted a letter she had written to the firm, saying she could not work with them while Braun continued to profit off the catalogue for “many years” under the terms of their deal.
“I simply cannot in good conscience bring myself to be involved in benefitting Scooter Braun’s interests directly or indirectly,” she writes.
“It pains me very deeply to remain separated from the music I spent over a decade creating, but this is a sacrifice I will have to make to keep Scooter Braun out of my life.”
Instead she said, she would be going ahead with the re-recordings, despite knowing they would devalue the firm’s investment.
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“I hope you will understand this is the only way of regaining the pride I once had when hearing songs from my first six albums and allowing my fans to listen to those albums without feeling guilt for benefitting Scooter.”
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While her fans will be bursting with excitement over the new recordings, Swift's move is intended to have far-reaching consequences beyond her own career.
She has called for deep-rooted change in an industry where young, aspiring artists too frequently sign their lives away to get a recording contract - so Swift's stance could benefit generations of musicians in her wake.