Scooter Braun has broken his silence on his “regrets” over how his acquisition of Taylor Swift’s longtime label in 2019 led to a feud between the two.
Braun bought the American singer and songwriter’s longtime record label, Big Machine Records, in 2019, along with the rights to the master recordings of Swift’s first six studio albums.
Later, in November 2020, he sold the masters to an investment fund in a deal believed to be worth over $300 million.
At the time of the initial sale, Swift, who had wished to buy the masters herself, condemned Braun, calling him a “tyrant” and “the definition of toxic male privilege in our industry.”
Braun, who is a well-known music manager overseeing Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande and others, said the controversy was a “learning lesson”.
In a new interview with NPR’s Jay Williams, he added: “The regret I have there is that I assumed that everyone, once the deal was done, was going to have a conversation with me, see my intent, see my character and say, great, let’s do business together.
In November 2020, Swift said: “[Braun] would never even give my team an award” and that he had been asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement that “would silence [her] always.” Braun’s team disputed the claim.
“I can’t put myself in the place of, you know, arrogance to think that someone would just be willing to have a conversation and be happy to work with me,” he told NPR. “I don’t know these people.”
She has since launched a campaign to re-record her albums to ensure new owners of her masters don’t profit from her music, encouraging her fans to listen to the hit “Taylor Versions”.
He went on to say that he still believed he was “treated unfairly” in the fallout from the purchase, but understood, “on the other side,” how unfair Swift felt that was as well.
“So I chose to look at it as a lesson in learning, a lesson in growth, and I wish everyone involved good luck,” he concluded.