Taylor Swift Blasts Former Label Owner, Scott Borchetta, for Selling Her Catalog to Scooter Braun
Taylor Swift was as surprised as anyone on Sunday (June 30) to discover the news that her back catalog, which is owned by her former label Big Machine, was sold to music mogul Scooter Braun as part of a conglomerate deal that encompasses the label group's holdings. However, the singer—who has recently been voicing her opinions openly, in a stark comparison to her past—wasn't going to remain silent about the transaction.
Swift took to Tumblr to compose an impassioned post, revealing to fans that Braun (an industry powerhouse who represents Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande, among many other holdings), has been abusive to her for years—as well as asserted that Borchetta has deliberately controlled her for the 12 years she was under his wing.
Swift, who is now signed to Universal Music Group's Republic Records, spelled it out plainly for fans. “For years I asked, pleaded for a chance to own my work. 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,” she wrote.
“I walked away because I knew once I signed that contract, 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.”
“I learned about Scooter Braun’s purchase of my masters as it was announced to the world," she explained. "All I could think about was the incessant, manipulative bullying I’ve received at his hands for years. Like when Kim Kardashian orchestrated an illegally recorded snippet of a phone call to be leaked and then Scooter got his two clients together to bully me online about it. Or when his client, Kanye West, organized a revenge porn music video which strips my body naked.
"Now Scooter has stripped me of my life’s work, that I wasn’t given an opportunity to buy. Essentially, my musical legacy is about to lie in the hands of someone who tried to dismantle it.”
Swift noted that she knew when she left the label, Borchetta would eventually sell her catalog. However, "Never in my worst nightmares did I imagine the buyer would be Scooter," she fumes.
"Any time Scott Borchetta has heard the words ‘Scooter Braun’ escape my lips, it was when I was either crying or trying not to. He knew what he was doing; they both did. Controlling a woman who didn’t want to be associated with them. In perpetuity. That means forever."
Swift closed her post by stating that Borchetta may have owned her past, but he doesn't own her future. "I will always be proud of my past work. But for a healthier option, Lover will be out August 23," she wrote, signing off with "Sad and grossed out."
Neither Braun nor Borchetta have commented publicly on the matter as of press time. The entire deal, which includes Swift's first six albums, reportedly topped $300 million.
See Country Music's Most Political Singers