Scooter Braun, manager of Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande, acquired Taylor Swift’s old record label, Big Machine, gaining the megastar’s back catalog and provoking her ire.
Swift claims she has tried to buy her music back from Big Machine for years, and dubbed Braun a bully in a blog post on Tumblr. She left Big Machine last year for a deal with Universal Music Group’s Republic Records — where she owns her own masters.
“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.” Braun has yet to comment on Swift’s post.
In addition to the six albums Taylor Swift has released to date, the Big Machine acquisition will get a lineup of artists including Reba McEntire, Sheryl Crow, Florida Georgia Line, Thomas Rhett, Rascal Flatts and Lady Antebellum. The Wall Street Journal said the deal was valued at more than $300 million.
Scott Borchetta, who founded Big Machine, will join the board of Braun’s closely held Ithaca Holdings LLC, acquire a minority interest in Ithaca and remain president and CEO of Big Machine, the companies said in a statement on Sunday. In a blog post, Borchetta said he’d offered Swift control of her music in exchange for a 10-year deal, but she walked away to join Universal.
Taylor Swift's response:
The Carlyle Group, which initially invested in Ithaca in 2017, is supporting the transaction, alongside Braun and Ithaca, through an additional equity investment by way of its Carlyle Partners VI fund, according to the statement.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.
