This Is Apparently the ‘Real’ Reason Everyone Is Leaving Scooter Braun

Jason Pham
·7 min read
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Just business? “Why is everyone leaving Scooter Braun?” is the question on the minds of everyone on the internet right now after reports that Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato and more celebrity clients were dropping him as their manager.

For those who don’t know: Braun is a talent manager and music executive who is known for managing the careers of stars like Justin Bieber, Kanye West, Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato, Carl Rae Jepsen, and J Balvin, through his talent company, SB Projects. Braun is also the founder of the record label, Schoolboy Records, and the holding company, Ithaca Ventures, which he sold to HYBE Corporation, the South Korean entertainment company that represents K-pop stars like BTS, in 2021.

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Braun made headlines in 2019 after he purchased Big Machine Records, the record label Taylor Swift released her first six albums with, in 2019 for $330 million. With the sale, Braun became the owner of all of the masters, music videos, and artworks copyrighted by Big Machine Records, including Swift’s first six studio albums: Taylor Swift, Fearless, Speak Now, Red, 1989, and Reputation. In a Tumblr post in 2019, Swift slammed Braun for purchasing her masters from her former manager, Scott Borchetta, and accused him of “incessant, manipulative bullying” over the years.

“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,” she wrote. “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.”

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She continued later in the post, “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.”

Fast forward to 2023, and news broke that several of Braun’s clients were leaving him. J Balvin, who signed with Braun in 2019, left in May 2023 after two years with Braun’s company. Puck News reported that Justin Bieber, whom Braun discovered in 2008, was also leaving after he and Braun hadn’t spoken in “months.” Representatives for Bieber and Braun, however, denied the claims to The Daily Mail. “Reps for all parties confirm this is not true,” the representatives said.

Days later, news broke that Demi Lovato was leaving Braun after signing with him in 2019. Hours after that, there were reports that Ariana Grande, who signed with Braun in 2013, was also leaving him, though some sources denied they had parted ways. A day later, news broke that Idina Menzel, who signed with Braun in 2019, was also leaving him. This all begs the question: Why is everyone leaving Scooter Braun and what did he do? Read on for what we know so far about why everyone is leaving Scooter Braun and the reason so many of his clients have dropped him.

Why is everyone leaving Scooter Braun?

Why is everyone leaving Scooter Braun? As of writing, Braun nor any of his clients have issued formal statements as to why Braun is no longer their manager. However, a music industry source with knowledge of the situation told StyleCaster on August 22, 2023, that Braun’s company, SB Projects, is still managing both Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande while Braun’s job at the company changes as he focuses on his role as the CEO of HYBE America, the South Korean entertainment company behind BTS to which Braun sold Ithaca Holdings, the parent company for SB PRojects, for $1.05 billion in 2021.

“All of Scooter Braun’s clients are under contract and negotiations have been going on for several months as Scooter steps into his larger role as HYBE America CEO,” the source said. “People are spreading rumors based on what they know, but they are off.  Scooter’s team at SB Projects are still handling both Justin and Ariana as they work through what this new structure looks like.”

Another source also told Variety that Braun was stepping away from talent management, which was the “real” reason for the changes at his company. “He’s getting out of management—he has been for years. That’s the real story.”

A second source, however, claimed to Variety that Bran’s clients were leaving due to the “ill will” and “envy” he’s garnered on his rise to to the top of the music industry. “He’s imploding,” the insider said. “It’s a different world since the pandemic. You just can’t be an asshole like that anymore.”

A day after news that Demi Lovato, Ariana Grande and Idina Menzel were leaving Braun as their manager, Braun joked in a tweet about the loss of his clients. “Breaking news… I’m no longer managing myself,” he wrote.

Before news of Braun’s clients leaving him, fans speculated that Taylor Swift’s song “Vigilante Shit” from her 2022 album, Midnights, was about Braun, their drama and his divorce from his ex-wife, Yael Cohen. Braun and Cohen separated in 2021 and finalized their divorce in 2022. According to court documents obtained by Us Weekly, Braun and Cohen share joint custody of their three children, sons Jagger Joseph and Levi Magnus, and daughter Hart Violet. The court also ordered Braun to pay Cohen a total of $60,000 in child support per month, which equalled to $12,000 to Jagger; $18,000 to Levi; and $30,000 to Hart.

“She needed cold, hard proof, so I gave her some / She had the envelope, where you think she got it from?” Swift sings in the second verse of “Vigilante Shit.” “Now she gets the house, gets the kids, gets the pride / Picture me thick as thieves with your ex-wife / And she looks so pretty Drivin’ in your Benz / Lately, she’s been dressin’ for revenge.” Though Swift has never confirmed that “Vigilante Shit” is about Braun, many fans speculate that he was the inspiration for the song. “Taylor Swift Karma x Vigilante Shit ALL DAY. Can’t wait to see what karma is headed Scooter Braun’s way,” tweeted a user.

In the third verse of “Vigilante Shit,” Swift sings about how the subject of her song’s “white-collar crimes” were reported to the FBI. “While he was doin’ lines and crossin’ all of mine / Someone told his white-collar crimes to the FBI / And I don’t dress for villains / Or for innocents I’m on my vigilante shit again,” she sings.

Who does Scooter Braun manage?

Who does Scooter Braun manage?
Who does Scooter Braun manage?

Who does Scooter Braun manage? Read on for a list of some of his past and present client

  • Justin Bieber

  • Ariana Grande

  • Psy

  • Tori Kelly

  • Carly Rae Jepsen

  • Martin Garrix

  • Kanye West

  • Black Eyed Peas

  • David Guetta

  • Lil Dicky

  • J Balvin

  • Demi Lovato

  • Idina Menzel

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