Culture
17 Nov 20

Scooter Braun sells Taylor Swift's master recordings for a second time

Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for MTV

Swift’s master recordings stretching back to 2006, and include all the songs from “Taylor Swift,” “Fearless,” “Speak Now,” “Red,” “1989” and “Reputation.”

Taylor Swift has stated to her followers that her master recordings have been sold off to a private equity company yet again by Scooter Braun, denying her the chance to buy back the tapes herself and resume control over the rights to her first six albums.

Braun made his name as the manager of artists like Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber.

“This was the second time my music had been sold without my knowledge,” the 30-year-old singer wrote on Twitter.

The Folklore singer slammed the transaction and Braun, writing that she and her team had been attempting behind the scenes to buy back her music.

The dealbreaker, says Swift, was that “Scooter’s team wanted me to sign an ironclad NDA saying that I would never say another word about Scooter Braun.”

Last year, Swift described Braun as “the definition of toxic male privilege in our industry,” adding that when she heard that he owned her music, “All I could think about was the incessant, manipulative bullying I’ve received at his hands for years.”

She also expressed frustration in her inability to even make a counteroffer on her own music:

“How are we really helping artists if we’re not giving them the first right of refusal to purchase their work if they want to?”

Swift has also started re-recording her early songs, saying that the task has “proven to be exciting and fulfilling”.

A long-running feud with her former record company, Big Machine Group, and with music executive Scooter Braun over the rights to some of her biggest hits, has been ongoing since 2019.

Braun bought the Big Machine record label in 2019 after Swift left the label in 2018 for a new deal with Universal Music Group.

Swift, a 10-time Grammy winner, wrote on Monday that she received a letter a few weeks ago from private equity company Shamrock Holdings “letting us know that they had brought 100% of my music, videos and album art from Scooter Braun.”

Under the terms of the sale, Braun “will continue to profit off my old music catalogue for many years”.

The deal between the investment fund and Braun is believed to be worth more than $300 million.

Been getting a lot of questions about the recent sale of my old masters. I hope this clears things up. pic.twitter.com/sscKXp2ibD

— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) November 16, 2020