Scooter Braun has shrugged off the outrage from Taylor Swift fans that erupted six years ago over his handling of the pop icon’s master recordings.
During a recent appearance on Danielle Robay’s “Question Everything” podcast, the music executive and former manager reflected on the lasting backlash he continues to face from Swift’s fans.
The criticism stems from the 2019 acquisition of Swift’s former label, Big Machine Label Group, by Braun’s company, Ithaca Holdings. The acquisition included the rights to her original master recordings. In 2020, those masters were sold to Shamrock Capital for a reported $300 million, a move Swift publicly condemned and which ultimately prompted her to re-record her earlier albums.
“You know, me even talking about this now, there’s gonna be … They’re gonna be yelling and screaming and this, that and the other,” Braun said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “You can’t say anything right, and it is what it is. My response to that is they made the horrible miscalculation that I care. You know, I don’t know those people out there. And if I met them in person and they needed my help, as a stranger, I would help them.”
Braun added that people tend to forget that, with a fanbase as big as Swift’s, when 10,000 people speak out, “it feels like the world is ending, but that’s less than one percent of a fan base that big.”
“I think most people are dealing with their own problems,” he continued. “I think most people are dealing with their own insecurities the same way I am, the same way every artist and every human being is. And I think it’s just a more productive use of your time to not get stuck in the craziness of celebrity fodder and focus more on being kind to people.”
During the interview, Braun also said he believes that, despite the years-long feud, “everybody in the end won.”
“When I sold it, she [Swift] had announced she was gonna do re-records. And if you understand music, the value went up for the masters because Spotify and streamers created a longer decay than buying just CDs,” Braun said. “People would listen to them more, so there’s a longer decay, but it’s still decaying. But when she re-recorded, all ships rise in a world of streaming. So people were going on and they were A/B-ing them. They were listening in to see how much they sounded like (the originals).”
Braun added that Swift’s decision to re-record her music “basically had the biggest moment of her career, reinvigorating her career with each one.”
“It was brilliant on her part, but also each time she released one, you saw a spike in the original catalog,” he added. “So, funny enough, everyone involved in the saga, from a business standpoint … One, she’s the biggest she’s ever been, the biggest artist of all time. We did really well with the asset. The people who bought the asset did really well because of those spikes. The only thing that I’m sad about is, that’s a great example where all ships can rise and there doesn’t need to be an enemy.”
Last month, Braun opened up about Swift’s “deeply unfair” reaction after he obtained the rights to her first six albums, saying during an appearance on the “Diary of a CEO” podcast that he did not expect it.
Braun said that when he acquired Big Machine, he expected to collaborate with all its artists, including Swift. However, he admitted that his management of Kanye West and Justin Bieber, both of whom had tensions with Swift, likely influenced her perception of him.
Braun said he assumed they could work things out after the sale but changed course after seeing Swift’s social media response.
“And then this Tumblr [post] comes out and says all this stuff. And I was just, like, shocked,” he said, according to Billboard.
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