A Detailed Explanation To Taylor Swift And Scooter Braun's Drama For Those Unversed

The drama between Taylor Swift and celebrity manager Scooter Braun has been setting the Internet on fire.

On Sunday, the You Need To Calm Down singer posted a heartbreaking note on Tumblr in which she strongly criticized Big Machine Records’ CEO Scott Borchetta for selling the company including her music catalog to Scooter Braun whom she accused of bullying her for years.

Confused by this messy situation? Let’s break it down!

Why Does Scooter Braun Own Taylor Swift’s Music?

Taylor Swift started her singing career as a musician at Big Machine Records at the age of 15 and recorded her first six albums through the company. Due to her contract, the label has rights to own the master recordings for her entire songs made under them.

For those who don’t know, a master recording is mentioned to the first recording of a song, the one that additional copies are made from. And any parties owning the master rights keep total control of how the song is used while earning money from it.

In 2018, Taylor left Big Machine Records after her 10-year contract expired and signed a new record deal with Universal Music Group’s Republic Records.

Taking to her social media handle to announce the news, Taylor wrote,

After Scott Borchetta sells the label to Ithaca Holdings with a whopping $300 million, this means that the valuable master rights of Taylor’s entire work now belong to Scooter Braun.

The Real Reason Why Taylor Left Big Machine Records

Taylor said that after trying to gain the ownership of her work for years, she came to know that the recording company only allowed her to do so if she agreed to renew her contract that will earn her the recording master of an old album for each new one she released. Therefore, she chose to walk away from the label.

While Taylor was aware that Borchetta would sell the label soon, she never imagined that it would eventually be left in the hands of Scooter Braun.

Why Does Taylor Swift Hate Scooter Braun So Much?

In her lengthy Tumblr note, Taylor accused Scooter of bullying her for years as she included the screenshot of a Justin Bieber’s 2016 Instagram post featuring a laughing Scooter and Kanye with the caption, "Taylor Swift what up".

This Is How Big Machine Records Responded To Taylor’s Accusations.

In a statement titled It’s Time For Some Truth, Scott Borchetta tried to set things straight. Firstly, Scott said that Taylor’s father, who was also a shareholder in the company, had been informed in advance about the sale.

He also claimed to have texted her about the sale around 9 p.m. on Saturday, the night before the news came out. And finally, Scott included screenshots of a negotiation document, stating that “100% of all Taylor Swift assets were to be transferred to her immediately upon signing the new agreement”, which was completely opposite to what she had earlier said.

Taylor’s Team Hit Back At Scott’s Claims

Shortly after, Taylor’s representative issued a public statement refuting all of Scott’s claims.

Justin and Hailey Bieber Called Out Taylor

Justin jumped into the feud by issuing an apology for his 2016 Instagram post but ending up coming to his manager’s defense and questioning Taylor’s goals in publishing this blog. His post received praise from his wife Hailey before being strongly slammed by Taylor’s best friend Cara Delevingne.

Also, Scooter’s wife Yael Cohen defended her hubby, calling Taylor a lying bully.

Other Celebrities Have Already Picked A Side

While some have taken offense to Taylor’s post, a lot of celebrities are showing their support to her.