Scooter Braun Expresses ‘Regret’ Over Buying Taylor Swift’s Masters

Scott Samuel Braun, better known as Scooter Braun, has been in hot water with Swifties ever since he acquired Taylor Swift’s catalog in 2019 when purchased Big Machine Records.

In a recent appearance on the NPR podcast, The Limits with Jay Williams, the controversial entertainment executive, 41, opened up about the acquisition, saying that he learned an “important lesson” from the purchase.

During his appearance on the NPR podcast, Scooter finally opened up about his decision to buy music from multiple artists, including Taylor Swift’s first six albums (via The Daily Mail). During the interview, Scooter said, “'When I did that deal, I was under a very strict NDA with the gentleman who owned it, and I couldn't tell any artist.”

He seems to be referring to Big Machine Records owner, Scott Borchetta, 60, who agreed to sell the catalogs of multiple artists to Scooter in 2019. Scooter claims that he was “excited to work with every artist on the label,” but it seems that not every artist was eager to work with him.

“So when we finalized the deal, I started making phone calls to say, hey, I'm a part of this,” Scooter recalled. “And before I could even do that – I made four phone calls; I started to do those phone calls – all hell broke loose.”

The New York native said that his “regret” is that he “made the assumption 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 be in business together. And I made that assumption with people that I didn't know.”

He said that he has since learned that “important lesson,” adding that he “can never make that assumption again.”

“I can't put myself in a place of, you know, arrogance to think that someone would just be willing to have a conversation and be excited to work with me,” he added.

It’s worth noting that Scooter sold his company, Ithaca Holdings, and the music he acquired to South Korean Entertainment company HYBE for a billion dollars and a seat on the HYBE board only two years after his initial acquisition. Scooter continues to manage artists like Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande.

On June 30, 2019, the “Bad Blood” singer made her feelings about the sale known when she posted a lengthy Tumblr post accusing Scooter of “incessant, manipulative bullying” that she claimed went on “for years.”

“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 at the time. “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.”

“When I left my masters in Scott’s hands, I made peace with the fact that eventually he would sell them. Never in my worst nightmares did I imagine the buyer would be Scooter,” she continued. “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.”

“Thankfully, I left my past in Scott’s hands and not my future,” she added. “And hopefully, young artists or kids with musical dreams will read this and learn about how to better protect themselves in a negotiation. You deserve to own the art you make.”

The ”Shake It Off” singer has since been on a mission to rerecord her first six albums. In 2021, she released Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and followed it up with Red (Taylor’s Version) in November of that year. She has released several singles from 1989 (Taylor’s Version), although the full album has yet to be released.

Fortunately for Swifties, she has a brand new album, “Midnights,” scheduled for release on October 21, 2022, through Republic Records. It will be her first studio album since her ninth studio album, “evermore” was released in December 2020.