Scooter Braun (left) weighed in on his feud with Taylor Swift (right) at Bloomberg’s Screentime conference. Photos: Bloomberg, AFP
Scooter Braun weighed in on his long-ago feud with American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, who grew angry with the talent manager after he acquired the master recordings of her early albums.
“Look, it’s five years later,” Braun told attendees at Bloomberg’s Screentime conference in Los Angeles on Oct 10. “I think, everyone, it’s time to move on.”
Braun said he initially did not want to watch the documentary, Taylor Swift Vs Scooter Braun: Bad Blood, which aired on the Max streaming service in June, but ultimately did so at the encouragement of his parents.
“There were a lot of things that were misrepresented,” Braun said of the documentary.
“It’s important in any kind of conflict that people communicate directly with each other,” he said. “I think when people take the time to stand in front of each other, have a conversation, they usually find out the monster’s not real.”
Braun, 43, is an entrepreneur and record executive who serves as chief executive officer of Hybe America, an offshoot of the South Korean entertainment company Hybe. He said he is in discussion with the company to extend his role at the American branch of the K-pop powerhouse.
Braun scored his first big success discovering singer Justin Bieber on YouTube and helping turn the young Canadian into a global pop star. Braun later diversified into film and TV production in addition to artiste management.
In 2019, he acquired Big Machine Label Group, which owned the recordings of the first six Swift albums. The 34-year-old singer was so unhappy about the sale, she ended up re-recording her albums to avoid sharing royalties with Braun.
A number of artistes in his management roster have left in the past two years, including American singer Demi Lovato. Braun announced his retirement from the artiste management business in June to focus on the new responsibilities at Hybe America.
With Hybe founder and chairman Bang Si-hyuk, Braun has been spearheading the solo project of BTS member Jungkook, as well as supporting Hybe artistes’ activities in the US.
Braun was asked at the Screentime event which artiste he would most likely want to manage in the future.
“I think the artiste that’s one that you should always bet on – because they want it all the time and they do what it takes to be present and relative all the time – is Taylor Swift,” he said. – Bloomberg
