Taylor Swift has slammed Scooter Braun’s acquisition of Big Machine Records — which holds the rights to her entire catalog up to 2017’s “Reputation” — as “my worst case scenario.” The deal was announced early Sunday morning.

In a passionate post on Tumblr, she writes:

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.

Some fun facts about today’s news: I learned about Scooter Braun’s purchase of my masters as it was announced to the world. All I could think about was the incessant, manipulative bullying I’ve received at his hands for years.

https://variety.com/2019/biz/news/taylor-swift-slams-scooter-brauns-acquisition-of-big-machine-as-my-worst-case-scenario-1203256624/

Scooter Braun’s Ithaca ...bel Group

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. (See photo) 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.

This is my worst case scenario. This is what happens when you sign a deal at fifteen to someone for whom the term ‘loyalty’ is clearly just a contractual concept. And when that man says ‘Music has value’, he means its value is beholden to men who had no part in creating it.

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.

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.

Sad and grossed out,

Taylor

The music industry has done Taylor just like my musical idol Prince(r.i.p) described it. Thank god he was able to FINALLY get ownership of his master recordings in 2014 a mere two years before he departed this earth & 18 years after leaving the WBR that refused to give them to him. Scooter now owns Justin Bieber,& Ariana Grande's master recordings.

Poor Taylor was done with no grease.

[Edited 7/1/19 6:16am]

I presume the deal she's now moaning about she openly signed some years ago? ... did she not read the small print or get a lawyer to check it over?

Don't have alot of sympathy for artists who complain about things after the event.

[Edited 7/1/19 3:01am]

Uh, o.k.

She was 15 when she signed that 1st contract.

More people should have paid attention to what Prince said and meant when he wrote slave on his face.

PennyPurple said:

Scooter Braun's wife, Yael put her on full blast on her Instagram account. Turns out, her father was a shareholder and was notified and the label head, Borchetta told her personally what was happening. But she wants to come off like the victim in this thing and pretend she didn't know until it became news like everyone else. She had ample opportunity to buy out her own catalog before Scooter.... she chose not to. She's such an entitled little brat. Now her little army of fans are on Change.org petitioning for Scooter to give her, her art back.

-

"And these are the brakes." - Curtis Blow

-

https://www.showbiz411.co...you-passed

[Edited 7/1/19 6:43am]

I dont understand why she had to bring in Kanye and Kim into her discussion.

BTW Taylor's father is a shareholder of the company that sold to Scooter.

ISaidLifeIsJustAGame said:

I dont understand why she had to bring in Kanye and Kim into her discussion.

BTW Taylor's father is a shareholder of the company that sold to Scooter.

.

I'm not a Swifty by any means but Kanye West has brutalized this young lady for no reason at least twice publically to embarassing ends for both.

.

.

.

He and his porn star wife are tragic in so many ways.

DaveT said:

I presume the deal she's now moaning about she openly signed some years ago? ... did she not read the small print or get a lawyer to check it over?

Don't have alot of sympathy for artists who complain about things after the event.

Besides which, why isn't she pissed at the person who sold her catalog, rather than the person who bought it?

She's an idiot.

I remember one of Prince's managers saying that Prince in essence exchanged complete ownership of his music for things such as artistic freedom, being able to write for other artists and being bankrolled for expensive movies that other artists wouldn't.

I remember Khandi Burress nonchalantly stating that she understands the record companies position in the TLC case because they are in fact putting up all the money and that's what renogotiation is for.

It's the one thing I respect Madonna for.

She knew she'd make no money from the record company itself, so she used the most valuable currency the company gave her and that was publicity.

I think at the end of the day that's what it comes down to.

Getting as many writing credits as you can and using that publicity to your advantage.

StrangeButTrue said:

ISaidLifeIsJustAGame said:

I dont understand why she had to bring in Kanye and Kim into her discussion.

BTW Taylor's father is a shareholder of the company that sold to Scooter.

.

I'm not a Swifty by any means but Kanye West has brutalized this young lady for no reason at least twice publically to embarassing ends for both.

.

.

.

He and his porn star wife are tragic in so many ways.

I am not a fan of them either but they had nothing to do with the selling of her catalogue.

https://www.bigmachinelab...some-truth

And Justin Bieber too: https://www.thewrap.com/j...criticism/

In other words, Taylor should have thought twice before airing her dirty laundry in public.

But this is what she has done again and again, played the poor little rich girl and the tide has turned against her, only her true fans follow her into the wilderness, everybody else shrugs. It's kind of like Madonna, but no one ever said Madonna was unsophisticated when it comes to business.

Maybe that's what happens when you grow up on stage and don't go to college.

Word on the street is Taylor Swift makes all the decisions. So I don't think we can blame her attorney, but how about her father/management, were they asleep at the wheel? It looks like Taylor made a bad choice and now wants a do-over. But there's no crying in the music business. It's all about the cold hard cash.

and there you have RECEIPTS above .... nice try TAYLOR

Taylor had every chance in the world to own not just her master recordings, but every video, photograph, everything associated to her career. She chose to leave.

Sounds like it's her word against his word. Why believe 1 over the other?

Why Doesn’t Taylor Swift Own Her Masters?
Taylor Swift apparently signed away her masters when she signed to Big Machine in 2005, when she was a teenager. She released her first six records through Big Machine—2006’s Taylor Swift through 2017’s reputation. In late 2018, Swift announced that she had left Big Machine to sign with Universal Music Group/Republic. In her announcement, she wrote that the new label offered her the right to retain her future master recordings.

Swift wrote in her letter on Sunday that, upon leaving Big Machine, she opted out of a deal in which she would renew her contract with the label and earn the master rights one album at a time—that is, gaining the masters to a previous album for each new one she turned in. She claims that she chose not to do this, knowing that Borchetta would soon sell the company, “thereby selling me and my future.”

In his rebuttal, Scott Borchetta discussed more about the proposed deal, claiming that it was less about the amount of albums she turned in and more on the amount of time she worked. He added that it was the best he could offer, considering her status among the artists in his roster, which also includes Rascal Flatts, Sugarland, Reba McEntire, and others. (In 2018, Variety reported that Swift’s catalog constitutes 80% of Big Machine’s revenue.) “Taylor had every chance in the world to own not just her master recordings, but every video, photograph, everything associated to her career,” he wrote. “She chose to leave.”

On Sunday, June 30, Big Machine announced that it was acquired by Ithaca Holdings LLC. The exact terms were not disclosed, but Braun’s purchase of the label group included all of Swift’s catalog. While Swift now presumably has no less control of her masters than she did before, when her masters were simply owned by Big Machine, she has claimed that the deal took place without her being notified or given a chance to purchase it herself. (Scott Borchetta rebutted Swift’s claim, contending that he had texted to let her know, and that her father—a Big Machine board member—had been notified.)

https://pitchfork.com/new...t-matters/

ISaidLifeIsJustAGame said:

I dont understand why she had to bring in Kanye and Kim into her discussion.

BTW Taylor's father is a shareholder of the company that sold to Scooter.

“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. (See photo) 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.

https://variety.com/2019/...203256624/

"If U don't own your masters,your master owns U."

PRINCE(r.i.p.)

PennyPurple said:

MotownSubdivision said:

PennyPurple said:

“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. (See photo) 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.

https://variety.com/2019/...203256624/

She's just mad that illegal phone call exposed her as a possible liar.

PennyPurple said:

ISaidLifeIsJustAGame said:

I dont understand why she had to bring in Kanye and Kim into her discussion.

BTW Taylor's father is a shareholder of the company that sold to Scooter.

“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. (See photo) 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.

https://variety.com/2019/...203256624/

Why werent charges filed it the call was illegal?

Taylor was in the media calling Kanye a liar, and they exposed her lies.

Does she have proof Scooter orchestrated the alleged bullying?

Taylor is always the victim.

So she wasnt bullying Katie Perry when she recorded "Bad Blood"?

PennyPurple said:

ISaidLifeIsJustAGame said:

I dont understand why she had to bring in Kanye and Kim into her discussion.

BTW Taylor's father is a shareholder of the company that sold to Scooter.

“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. (See photo) 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.

https://variety.com/2019/...203256624/

F*ck me ... the whole lot of 'em need shoving in a dumpster and rolling off a cliff.

You look at someone like Springsteen whose passion is writing songs that highlight the ups and down of his home nation, and wonder what he thinks of these fools who seem to live to have childish spats over "social media". What an all round sh*t show.

DaveT said:

No way she was even offered her masters upon signing, I am not sure what people think of todays artists, but when they are first signed to a label especially if they are young and especially in this "I want to be a star right away, with no work" generation, no one is giving them their artists when they sign out of the gate. No one ones their stuff, especially now, with 360 deals and all that, are people NUTS, labels are lucky at this point if someone signs a deal you think they are going to give that up?

Also please do not compare with PRINCE. Tired of this generation comparing everything with his battle in the 90's. FIRST THING is that no one had Prince's back in the 90's not the labels, not his fellow artists, in some cases not even the people he worked with. PRINCE also to get out of his deal in negotiations gave back ALOT of what he signed for in 1992 (his VP deal with Warners) some have said that more than half that money was never ever seen by Prince because of lacking sales of his albums and Warners just taking his production and touring costs out of what he got when he signed.

lastdecember said:

No way she was even offered her masters upon signing, I am not sure what people think of todays artists, but when they are first signed to a label especially if they are young and especially in this "I want to be a star right away, with no work" generation, no one is giving them their artists when they sign out of the gate. No one ones their stuff, especially now, with 360 deals and all that, are people NUTS, labels are lucky at this point if someone signs a deal you think they are going to give that up?

Her former label offered her a chance to get her masters back if she stayed with them AND she'd own her future masters. From what I read, she was offered one old master back alongside each new album.

Either way -- old label or new label -- Taylor Swift never owned her masters. She's just upset that the main person who eventually gained ownership is someone she hates.

I wonder if the music of streaming era artists really have any value in the future that owning masters mean anything. Unlike baby boomers buying Sgt. Pepper & Dark Side Of The Moon over and over when new versions come out. I don't see 30 years from now that there will be deluxe CD box sets of Maroon 5, Jonas Brothers, or Drake. The only reason the masters of pre-internet artists have value is if they were hits or sold a lot. Most records did not. Like if you go to a bad album covers site, the majority are obscure records that few people know. So they have no value no matter who owns the masters, the label or the artist. It's unlikely any company will use songs from those records for advertising their products, nor for movies/TV shows. An act like The Beatles are a brand, that's how they can have Monopoly games, LEGO sets, dolls, pajamas, and other kinds of merchandise.

Taylor’s dad, Scott Swift, was a shareholder in Big Machine Records, LLC. We first alerted all of the shareholders on Thursday, June 20th for an official shareholder’s call scheduled for Tuesday, June 25th. On the 6/25 call the shareholders were made aware of the pending deal with Ithaca Holdings and had 3 days to go over all of the details of the proposed transaction. We then had a final call on Friday, June 28th in which the transaction passed with a majority vote and 3 of the 5 shareholders voting ‘yes’ with 92% of the shareholder’s vote.

Out of courtesy, I personally texted Taylor at 9:06pm, Saturday, June 29th to inform her prior to the story breaking on the morning of Sunday, June 30th so she could hear it directly from me.

I guess it might somehow be possible that her dad Scott, 13 Management lawyer Jay Schaudies (who represented Scott Swift on the shareholder calls) or 13 Management executive and Big Machine LLC shareholder Frank Bell (who was on the shareholder calls) didn’t say anything to Taylor over the prior 5 days. I guess it’s possible that she might not have seen my text. But, I truly doubt that she “woke up to the news when everyone else did”.

I am attaching a few very important deal points in what was part of our official last offer to Taylor Swift to remain at Big Machine Records. Her 13 Management team and attorney Don Passman went over this document in great detail and reported the terms to her in great detail.

Taylor and I then talked through the deal together.

As you will read, 100% of all Taylor Swift assets were to be transferred to her immediately upon signing the new agreement. We were working together on a new type of deal for our new streaming world that was not necessarily tied to ‘albums’ but more of a length of time.

We are an independent record company. We do not have tens of thousands of artists and recordings. My offer to Taylor, for the size of our company, was extraordinary. But it was also all I could offer as I am responsible for dozens of artists’ careers and over 120 executives and their families.

Taylor and I remained on very good terms when she told me she wanted to speak with other record companies and see what was out there for her. I never got in her way and wished her well.

The morning that the new Taylor/UMG announcement was going to be made, she texted me shortly before letting me know that the announcement was coming in a few minutes.

As we both posted on our socials, we saluted each other and cheered each other on.

Taylor had every chance in the world to own not just her master recordings, but every video, photograph, everything associated to her career. She chose to leave.

As to her comments about ‘being in tears or close to it’ anytime my new partner Scooter Braun’s name was brought up, I certainly never experienced that. Was I aware of some prior issues between Taylor and Justin Bieber? Yes. But there were also times where Taylor knew that I was close to Scooter and that Scooter was a very good source of information for upcoming album releases, tours, etc, and I’d reach out to him for information on our behalf. Scooter was never anything but positive about Taylor. He called me directly about Manchester to see if Taylor would participate (she declined).

He called me directly to see if Taylor wanted to participate in the Parkland March (she declined). Scooter has always been and will continue to be a supporter and honest custodian for Taylor and her music.

This is the text Taylor sent to me on Monday, November 19th at 8:57am:

Scott,

I hope this finds you well. Since communication ran dry on our negotiations, I’ve done what I told you I would do and gone out exploring other options. Owning my masters was very important to me, but I’ve since realized that there are things that mean even more to me in the bigger picture. I had a choice whether to bet on my past or to bet on the future and I think knowing me, you can guess which one I chose. I also saw a rare opportunity to effect positive change for a lot of other artists with the leverage I have right now. I know you believe in the same things I do and I’d like to think you would be proud of what I’ve negotiated for in my deal. I wanted to tell you first that I’ll be signing with Lucian. I honestly truly cherish everything you and I have built together and I plan on saying so in my announcement of the new deal. What we accomplished together will be a lasting legacy and a case study on excellent partnerships, and may it continue. I still view you as a partner and friend and I hope you feel the same. Sending you a hug and my most sincere gratitude.

And SO much love,

Taylor

Here is the text I sent on the evening of June 29 at 9:05pm:

Dear Taylor,

Hope all is well and congratulations on the success of your first two singles from “Lover”!

I can’t wait to hear the entire album…

I wanted to pass along to you the same courtesy that you passed along to me in regard to my future.

Tomorrow morning (Sunday, June 30th) at 10a central, the Wall Street Journal will announce that I am entering into a merger/acquisition with Scooter Braun and Ithaca Holdings. This move will give us more pop culture super-power than ever before and I’m so excited about the future.

I want you to know that I will continue to be the proud custodian of your previous works and will continue to keep you and your team abreast of all future plans for releases of you work.

Nothing but the best,

Scott

Double-post

[Edited 7/2/19 14:09pm]