Is Ariana distancing herself from Scooter over his Taylor feud?
What's the story
Record executive and manager of artists like Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande, Scooter Braun has opened up about the very public fight with singer Taylor Swift. While Swift has called out Braun for selling her masters without her consent, the Ithaca Holdings ex-CEO maintained he wanted to work things out smoothly. Reportedly, this feud is making Grande distance herself from him too.
Connecting dots
Grande didn't contribute a profile for Braun's magazine cover
Braun spoke about the Swift issue in his new Variety cover, where Bieber, J Balvin, Demi Lovato, gave quotes on the businessman. However, Grande's absence is raising eyebrows. To note, in 2019, when Swift had first voiced out her ordeal, Grande reportedly was "frustrated" and wanted to speak out. But apparently, Braun had encouraged "all of his acts to stay out of it."
One side
Braun claimed he tried to sit with Swift 'several times'
So what did Braun say? The artist manager said he was "sad" with the Bad Blood singer's reaction to the deal. "All of what happened has been very confusing and not based on anything factual. I don't know what story she was told." He claimed he tried to hold dialogue with Swift "several times, but she refused." The Evermore star's statement has been different.
Claims
Evidently, Swift and Braun's statements have been contradictory
The 31-year-old singer said in November 2020 the entrepreneur's team had asked her to sign an "ironclad NDA" and had "never even" quoted her team any price for the recordings. Braun, on the other hand, maintained he had offered "to sell her the catalog back and went under NDA, but [Swift's] team refused." Calling it "very unfortunate," Braun noted how "open communication is important."
Reaction
Netizens criticized Braun for 'gaslighting' the 'Mad Woman' singer
The artist manager clarified that he considered Swift to be "an incredibly talented artist" and wished "her nothing but the best." His sweet words however failed to melt netizens, a fair part of which consists of Swifties (Swift's fans). "Confusing @scooterbraun?? You're the biggest double-dealer in the biz..." said one. Another user criticized him for repeatedly using "media outlets to gaslight" the Red singer.
Business
Here are the details of the controversial deal
After acquiring Swift's former label, Big Machine Records (BMR) in 2019, Ithaca Holdings sold the master catalog to investment company Shamrock Holdings. Swift was understandably upset with the deal and announced she would be re-recording all of her six albums to regain ownership. She released her first re-recorded album, Fearless (Taylor's Version), in April. Her next release is going to be Red (Taylor's Version).