Taylor Swift Claims Scooter Braun Is Trying to ‘Silence’ Her With Music Masters Sale
Nov. 17 2020, Published 4:43 p.m. ET
The drama continues! Taylor Swift updated fans on her ongoing battle with Big Machine Records and Scooter Braun after Variety reported on Monday, November 16, that he sold her music masters for over $300 million.
“I wanted to check in and update you guys. As you know, for the past year I’ve been actively trying to regain ownership of my master recordings,” Swift, 30, shared via Twitter, hours after the initial report. “With that goal in mind, my team attempted to enter into negotiations with Scooter Braun.”
Braun first acquired the rights to the "Lover" singer's first six albums in June 2019 when he bought her former label Big Machine Records. Since then, Swift, Braun and Big Machine Record executive Scott Borchetta have gone head-to-head in a fight for her music.
“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),” Swift explained in her Twitter statement, noting that her legal team said "this is absolutely NOT normal."
“So, I would have to sign a document that would silence me before I could even have a chance to bid on my own work,” she explained. “He would never even quote my team a price. These master recordings were not for sale to me.”
The singer also addressed reports that an investment fund bought her music, explaining that her team was contacted by private equity company Shamrock Holdings, who said they bought “100 percent of my music, videos, and album art from Scooter Braun.”
When Swift realized that if she worked with Shamrock she would be supporting Braun, she backed out. “As soon as we started communication with private equity company Shamrock Holdings, I learned that under their terms Scooter Braun will continue to profit off my old musical catalog for many years. I was hopeful and open to the possibility of a partnership with Shamrock, but Scooter’s participation is a non-starter for me,” the Miss Americana star said.
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Following the explanation, Swift told fans that she has "recently" been rerecording her old music, calling it “exciting and creatively fulfilling.”
“I have plenty of surprises in store. I want to thank you guys for supporting me through this ongoing saga, and I can’t wait for you to hear what I’ve been dreaming up,” she concluded. “I love you guys and I’m just gonna keep cruising, as they say.”
