The singer says she's 'sad and grossed out' by Braun purchasing her former record label, Big Machine.
Taylor Swift is not happy.
In a lengthy message posted to her Tumblr on Sunday, the "You Need to Calm Down" singer accused Scooter Braun of bullying her with his recent purchase of her former record label, Scott Borchetta's Big Machine. ET has reached out to reps for Swift and Braun for comment.
The reported $300 million deal, which was revealed on Sunday, gives Braun's Ithaca Holdings ownership of a majority of Swift's masters. The 29-year-old singer left Big Machine for Universal Music Group late last year, but the label still has Florida Georgia Line, Thomas Rhett, Reba McEntire and more on its roster. Braun, meanwhile, manages Justin Bieber, Kanye West, Demi Lovato and more.
"For years I asked, pleaded for a chance to own my work. Instead I was given an opportunity to sign back up to Big Machine Records and 'earn' one album back at a time, one for every new one I turned in. I walked away because I knew once I signed that contract, Scott Borchetta would sell the label, thereby selling me and my future. I had to make the excruciating choice to leave behind my past. Music I wrote on my bedroom floor and videos I dreamed up and paid for from the money I earned playing in bars, then clubs, then arenas, then stadiums," Swift began in her post.
The GRAMMY winner went on, revealing that she learned of Braun's purchase of Big Machine as it was "announced to the world" on Sunday. "All I could think about was the incessant, manipulative bullying I've received at his hands for years," she wrote.
"Like when Kim Kardashian orchestrated an illegally recorded snippet of a phone call to be leaked and then Scooter got his two clients together to bully me online about it," she continued, pointing fans to the included photo, a screenshot of Bieber's video chat with Braun and West, with the caption, "Taylor Swift what up." "Or when his client, Kanye West, organized a revenge porn music video which strips my body naked. Now Scooter has stripped me of my life's work, that I wasn't given an opportunity to buy. Essentially, my musical legacy is about to lie in the hands of someone who tried to dismantle it."
Swift called the deal her "worst case scenario." "When I left my masters in Scott's hands, I made peace with the fact that eventually he would sell them. Never in my worst nightmares did I imagine the buyer would be Scooter. Any time Scott Borchetta has heard the words 'Scooter Braun' escape my lips, it was when I was either crying or trying not to. He knew what he was doing; they both did. Controlling a woman who didn't want to be associated with them. In perpetuity. That means forever," she claimed.
"Thankfully, I am now signed to a label that believes I should own anything I create. Thankfully, I left my past in Scott's hands and not my future. And hopefully, young artists or kids with musical dreams will read this and learn about how to better protect themselves in a negotiation. You deserve to own the art you make. I will always be proud of my past work. But for a healthier option, Lover will be out August 23," Swift concluded, signing her note, "sad and grossed out," with a broken heart emoji.
Braun, meanwhile, celebrated his new deal on Instagram on Sunday morning. "Genuinely grateful for my new partner @scott.borchetta and the entire @bigmachinelabelgroup team. We together at Ithaca are going to do amazing things and our hope is to give every artist the tools they need to succeed in all arenas. Thank you again for the trust Scott. Let’s get it!" he captioned a photo of himself with Borchetta.
See more on Swift in the video below.
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