The drama between Taylor Swift [1], Scooter Braun, and Big Machine Records founder Scott Borchetta is heating up again. Ever since the talent manager acquired Big Machine on June 30, 2019 [2], there have been multiple reports from both sides about what really went down.
Though Taylor has worked very closely with Scott during her 13-year career [3] — Taylor was the first artist Scott signed when he created Big Machine in 2005 — their relationship has changed drastically within the past year. Following Taylor's tremendous success with her sixth album, Reputation [4], the singer decided to take her career in a brand-new direction. In November 2018, she announced that she was leaving Big Machine Records [5] and was signing with Republic Records and Universal Music Group. The new deal not only gave Taylor ownership of any future masters, but also ensured that any sale of the label's shares in Spotify "will result in a distribution of money to their artists."
Though Taylor and Scott appeared to be on good terms when she left Big Machine Records, that all changed when Scooter acquired the label, along with the music catalogue to Taylor's first six albums. Following the acquisition, Taylor made her thoughts well-known [6] with a lengthy Tumblr post that deemed the sale her "worst case scenario." Keep reading for everything that has happened since the acquisition ahead.
June 30, 2019: Scooter Braun Acquires Big Machine Records
On June 30, it was announced that Scooter's media company, Ithaca Holdings, had acquired Scott's Big Machine Label Group for $300 million. Through the deal, which was backed by global investment firm The Carlyle Group, Scooter also acquired Taylor's music catalogueue for her first six albums with Big Machine.
June 30, 2019: Taylor Swift Responds to Big Machine Acquisition With a Tumblr Post
Shortly after the acquisition was made public, Taylor responded by sharing a lengthy letter on Tumblr [8], which detailed her decision to leave Big Machine in November 2018 and why the sale to Scooter was her "worst case scenario."
"For years I asked, pleaded for a chance to own my work," Taylor started her blog post. "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. I walked away because I knew once I signed that contract, [Big Machine Records founder] Scott Borchetta would sell the label, thereby selling me and my future. I had to make 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 then called the sale to Scooter her "worst case scenario" [9] and said that she had received "incessant, manipulative bullying" from him "for years," alluding to her feud with Scooter's former client Kanye West [10] back in 2016. "Now Scooter has stripped me of my life's work, that I wasn't given an opportunity to buy," she continued. "Essentially, my musical legacy is about to lie in the hands of someone who tried to dismantle it."
June 30, 2019: Scott Borchetta Responds to Taylor Swift's Statement
Later that day, Scott posted a statement to Big Machine Records' website [11], saying that he intended to "set some things straight." He revealed that Big Machine alerted all shareholders (which included Taylor's father, Scott Swift) on June 20 about an official shareholders' call about the pending deal with Ithaca Holdings. He also claimed that he personally reached out to Taylor, via text message, on June 29 to alert her of the deal before it went public.
"I guess it might somehow be possible that her dad Scott, 13 Management lawyer Jay Schaudies (who represented Scott Swift on the shareholder calls) or 13 Management executive and Big Machine LLC shareholder Frank Bell (who was on the shareholder calls) didn't say anything to Taylor over the prior 5 days," he said in the statement. "I guess it's possible that she might not have seen my text. But, I truly doubt that she 'woke up to the news when everyone else did.'"
Scott also claimed that Scooter "was never anything but positive about Taylor," citing instances where the music manager reached out to see if Taylor would participate in Ariana Grande's Manchester Benefit Concert [12] and March For Our Lives, both of which she refused. During a Rolling Stone interview in September 2019, Taylor clarified that she was never made aware of those events [13], saying, "Here's the thing: everyone in my team knew if Scooter Braun brings us something, do not bring it to me."
June 30, 2019: Celebrities Take Sides in Taylor Swift and Scooter Braun's Feud
Once both sides spoke out about the acquisition, celebrities began to take sides in the brewing feud [14]. Taylor's musician friends, such as Halsey, Brendon Urie, and Camila Cabello, championed the singer for speaking out about her right to own her own music [15], while Scooter was backed up by his wife, Yael Cohen, and his clients Justin Bieber and Demi Lovato [16].
Aug. 22, 2019: Taylor Swift Announces Plans to Rerecord Her First 5 Albums
Once the initial controversy had died down, Taylor announced her plans to rerecord her first five albums [17] in an attempt to regain her masters. "Yeah that's true, and it's something I'm very excited about," she told Robin Roberts during Good Morning America. "My contract says starting from November 2020, I can start rerecording albums one through five. I think artists deserve to own their own work. It's next year — I'm gonna be busy."
During a sit-down interview with CBS This Morning on Aug. 25, Taylor also spoke out about Scott's choice to sell her masters to Scooter [18], saying, "I knew he would sell my music, I knew he would do that. I couldn't believe who he sold it to. Because we've had endless conversations about Scooter Braun, and he has 300 million reasons to conveniently forget those conversations."
Nov. 14, 2019: Taylor Swift Shares a Letter on Twitter Asking Fans For Help
A week before accepting artist of the decade at the American Music Awards, Taylor gave fans an update on her ongoing feud with Scott and Scooter [19]. "I've been planning to perform a medley of my hits throughout the decade on the show," she said about the upcoming show. "Scott Borchetta and Scooter Braun have now said that I'm not allowed to perform my own songs on television because they claim that would be re-recording my music before I'm allowed to next year." She also claimed that Scooter and Scott are declining the use of her older music for an upcoming Netflix documentary about her life.
Taylor then asked fans to reach out to celebrities who work with Scooter and Scott in hopes that they can help her get permission to play her songs. "The message being sent to me is very clear," Taylor added. "Basically, be a good little girl and shut up. Or you'll be punished."
Nov. 14, 2019: More Celebrities Side With Taylor Swift on Social Media
Shortly after Taylor shared her letter, fans and celebrities alike began to show their support with the hashtag "I Stand With Taylor." Halsey defended Taylor in a handful of tweets [20] and shared a video of her singing Taylor's country hit "Mean [21]," while Taylor's longtime pal Selena Gomez voiced her thoughts in an Instagram Story [22].
"My heart is so heavy right now," Selena wrote. "It makes me sick and extremely angry. (I don't mind if there may be retaliation) this is my opinion. It's greed, manipulation and power. There is no heart or thought of anyone else. No respect for the words my friend has written since she was a 14 year old in her bedroom. You've robbed and crushed one of our best song writers of our time an opportunity to celebrate all of her music with fans and the world."
Nov. 15, 2019: Big Machine Records Denies Taylor Swift's Claims
Big Machine later denied Taylor's claims [23] in a lengthy statement. "At no point did we say Taylor could not perform on the AMAs or block her Netflix special," the label said. "In fact, we do not have the right to keep her from performing live anywhere. Since Taylor's decision to leave Big Machine last Fall, we have continued to honour all of her requests to licence her catalogueue to third parties as she promotes her current record [Lover] in which we do not financially participate."
Big Machine's statement also accused Taylor of "contractually owing millions of dollars and multiple assets" to the company and its "120 hardworking employees who helped build her career."
Shortly after, Taylor's publicist, Tree Paine, responded to Big Machine's statement [24] on Twitter, saying that Scott "flatly denied the request for both American Music Awards and Netflix." She also pointed out that in Big Machine's statement, "they never actually deny either claim" Taylor made in her post. Tree also claimed that "a professional auditor has determined that Big Machine owes Taylor $7.9 million dollars of unpaid royalties over several years."
Nov. 18, 2019: Taylor Gets Approval For Her AMAs Performance
On Nov. 18, Taylor was given permission to perform her old music catalogueue [25] during the American Music Awards. "The Big Machine Label Group and Dick Clark Productions announce that they have come to terms on a licencing agreement that approves their artists' performances to stream post show and for re-broadcast on mutually approved platforms," the statement to Variety read. "This includes the upcoming American Music Awards performances. It should be noted that recording artists do not need label approval for live performances on television or any other live media. Record label approval is only needed for contracted artists' audio and visual recordings and in determining how those works are distributed."
Shortly after, Dick Clark Productions denied that they had any involvement in the joint statement [26] with Big Machine Records. "At no time did Dick Clark Productions agree to, create, authorize or distribute a statement in partnership with Big Machine Label Group regarding Taylor Swift [27]'s performance at the 2019 American Music Awards," a representative from the company told Rolling Stone. "Any final agreement on this matter needs to be made directly with Taylor Swift's management team. We have no further comment."