After buying Taylor Swift’s music catalog for a reported $300 million in 2019, Scooter Braun is telling his side of the story for the first time. He explained that while he “regrets” the response the singer had to the news, he maintains that the version of events she’s telling is also “not based on anything factual.”
In a Tumblr post at the time, Swift accused to the music manager of “stripping” her of her life’s work and trying to “silence” her, calling him an “incessant, manipulative bully.” But in a new interview with Variety, Braun attempted to set the record straight, saying, “I regret and it makes me sad that Taylor had that reaction to the deal.” He explained, “All of what happened has been very confusing and not based on anything factual. I don’t know what story she was told. I asked for her to sit down with me several times, but she refused.” According to his recollection of events, “I offered to sell her the catalog back and went under NDA, but her team refused. It all seems very unfortunate. Open communication is important and can lead to understanding. She and I only met briefly three or four times in the past, and all our interactions were really friendly and kind. I find her to be an incredibly talented artist and wish her nothing but the best.”
Braun also said that what hit him hardest was Swift’s characterization of him as her antagonizer. “The thing that struck me the worst is the word ‘bully,’” he said. “I’m firmly against anyone ever being bullied. I always try to lead with appreciation and understanding. The one thing I’m proudest of in that moment was that my artists and team stood by me. They know my character and my truth. That meant a lot to me. In the long run, I’m happy for my life’s work to be the legacy I leave behind.” He went on to say that this very public feud with the singer had led to a lot of misconceptions about who he actually is as a person, adding that “It would be really nice if we all give each other a little bit of grace.”
Of course, Braun’s recollection of how these events transpired differ dramatically from the story Swift shared on Tumblr three years ago when it was publicly announced that the manager had purchased her entire catalog. “For years I asked, pleaded for a chance to own my work,” she wrote. “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, [BMR 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 continued, “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...This is my worst case scenario. This is what happens when you sign a deal at fifteen to someone for whom the term ‘loyalty’ is clearly just a contractual concept. And when that man says ‘Music has value’, he means its value is beholden to men who had no part in creating it.”
In a tweet from November 2020, Swift also addressed the NDA Braun mentions in his interview, explaining, “Scooter's team wanted me to sign an ironclad NDA stating I would never say another word about Scooter Braun unless it was positive, before we could even look at the financial records of BMLG (which is always the first step in a purchase of this nature). 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. My legal team said that 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. He would never even quote my team a price. These master recordings were not for sale to me.”
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