In 2019, music manager Scooter Braun purchased the rights from Taylor Swift’s masters to her first six albums. The deal, reportedly worth more than $300 million, led to a public feud between Swift and Braun that ultimately resulted in Swift resolving to re-record her first six albums. In hindsight, Braun wishes it had happened differently.
Vespa Braun | Michael Tran/Getty Images
Scooter Braun called his feud with Taylor Swift ‘confusing’
Braun discussed the controversy with Swift’s teachers, and Swift’s public comments about it, in a 2021 interview with Variety.
“I am sorry and saddened that Taylor had such a reaction to the deal,” Braun said. “Everything that has happened has been very confusing and not based on anything factual.”
He went on to explain that he offered her the opportunity to buy back her teachers, but claimed that she turned him down. “I asked several times for her to sit with me, but she refused,” Braun said. “I offered to sell her the catalog and submitted to the NDA, but her team refused. It all seems very unfortunate.” Swift called him out on Tumblr for his “relentless and manipulative bullying” both before and after the teachers controversy.
“The thing that struck me the most is the word ‘thug,’” Braun said. “I am strongly against anyone being bullied. I always try to lead with appreciation and understanding.”
Braun believed that it was all a misunderstanding between the two parties. “I think when you’re successful, you’re misunderstood,” he said. “There are always going to be misconceptions because people want to see things the way they want to see them. But it would be really nice if we all give each other a little grace.”
Braun spoke about his remorse over the situation in a 2022 interview with NPR.
“My regret is that I assumed that everyone, once the deal was done, would have a conversation with me, see my intent, see my character and say, great, let’s do business together,” Braun said. he said.
He talked about some of the things he learned from the deal. “When I made that deal, I was under a very strict NDA with [Big Machine owner Scott Borchetta], and I couldn’t tell any artist. I was not allowed. I was not legally allowed to,” she said. “What I said to him was, ‘Hey, if any of the artists want to come back and buy this, you have to let me know.’ And he shared a letter with me that is publicly available that, you know, the artist you’re referring to said, ‘I don’t want to participate in my teachers. I’ve decided, you know, not to do this deal,’ blah blah blah. So that was the idea he was on.”
“I was excited to work with all the artists on the label. So when we finalized the deal, I started making phone calls to say, hey, I’m part of this. And before I could do that, I made four phone calls; I started making those phone calls, all hell broke loose,” he continued. “So I think a lot of things got lost in translation. I think when you have a conflict with someone, it’s very difficult to resolve if you’re not willing to have a conversation.”
In the end, Swift will have new teachers of her own, and she’s been setting new records in the process. She released the re-recorded albums Fearless (Taylor Version) Y Red (Taylor Version) in 2021, and with “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version)”, Swift achieved the longest song to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in history.
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