Scooter Braun needs Scott Borchetta to “calm down.”
The 38-year-old music producer, who reps Justin Bieber, Demi Lovato and Ariana Grande, is actually not happy with the way things are being handled by Borchetta when it comes to Taylor Swift and her music catalog, which they purchased earlier this year.
For a refresher on the latest music battle between the trio, the Lover singer took to social media on Thursday and claimed that Borchetta and Braun weren’t allowing her to perform her old songs at the upcoming 2019 American Music Awards. For the ceremony, she is receiving the Artist of the Decade award, and wanted to perform a medley of her classics for her fans.
However, according to a source, Braun isn’t too happy with the way things are being handled by Borchetta.
“Scooter is frustrated because his name is being dragged in the mud,” a source shared with E! News. “He doesn’t run Big Machine or have operational control of company. He hasn’t taken part in these negotiations.”
Furthermore, the insider explained that the 38-year-old has been trying to reach the 29-year-old pop star, but as of right now, she hasn’t returned his calls.
“This fight with Taylor is not something Scooter agrees with,” according to the source.
Earlier this week, the Lover star gave fans insight into what has been happening behind closed doors.
“Guys – It’s been announced recently that the American Music Awards will be honoring me with the Artist of the Decade Award at this year’s ceremony. I’ve been planning to perform a medley of my hits throughout the decade on the show,” she began her detailed post. “Scott Borchetta and Scooter Braun have now said that I’m not allowed to perform my old songs on television because they claim that would be re-recording my music before I’m allowed to next year.”
“Additionally – and this isn’t the way I had planned on telling you this news – Netflix has created a documentary about my life for the past few years,” she continued. “Scott and Scooter have declined the use of my older music or performance footage for this project, even though there is no mention of either of them or Big Machine Records anywhere in the film.”
Getty Images for Entercom
Sharing even more details, Swift wrote, “Scott Borchetta told my team that they’ll allow me to use my music only if I do these things: If I agree to not re-record copycat versions of my songs next year (which is something I’m both legally allowed to do and looking forward to) and also told my team that I need to stop talking about him and Scooter Braun.”
“I feel very strongly that sharing what is happening to me could change the awareness level for other artists and potentially help them avoid a similar fate,” she added. “The message being sent to me is very clear. Basically, be a good little girl and shut up. Or you’ll be punished.”
It didn’t take long for other artists to share their thoughts over the matter, with many supporting Taylor, including Ruby Rose, Todrick Hall and singer Tinashe.
Not long after Swift spoke out, Big Machine Label Group, which Borchetta own issued a statement on their website about the situation.
“As Taylor Swift’s partner for over a decade, we were shocked to see her tumblr statements yesterday based on false information,” the message read. “At no point did we say Taylor could not perform on the AMAs or block her Netflix special. In fact, we do not have the right to keep her from performing live anywhere. Since Taylor’s decision to leave Big Machine last fall, we have continued to honor all of her requests to license her catalog to third parties as she promotes her current record in which we do not financially participate.”
“The truth is, Taylor has admitted to contractually owing millions of dollars and multiple assets to our company, which is responsible for 120 hardworking employees who helped build her career,” the statement continued. “We have worked diligently to have a conversation about these matters with Taylor and her team to productively move forward. We started to see progress over the past two weeks and were optimistic as recently as yesterday that this may get resolved. However, despite our persistent efforts to find a private and mutually satisfactory solution, Taylor made a unilateral decision last night to enlist her fanbase in a calculated manner that greatly affects the safety of our employees and their families.”
With the American Music Awards nearly a week away, Swifties will just have to wait and see if Taylor gets to perform her hit tunes. Fingers crossed!