Scooter Braun Said That His Feud With Taylor Swift Was Not "Based On Any Truth"

From Seventeen

If you're trying to figure out why Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber are suddenly in a feud, you're not alone. After Taylor posted a long letter directed at Justin and his manager, Scooter Braun, it seems like everyone in the music industry has come in to defend one side or the other. While it all seems like it's a random thing that is happening, there's actually a lot behind what sparked it all.

Here's everything you need to know about the Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, and Scooter Braun feud...

What has Scooter said about Taylor?

Scooter didn't call Taylor out by name, but he recently referenced the feud in an interview on the Wide Open podcast. He said that the recent drama was not "based on any truth," admitting that he thought that Taylor may have been reacting based on misinformation.

"It's hard when you get attacked and it's not based on any truth, but for that other person it may be based on truth, but they don't have all the information," he said. "That's why I am always open to communication and having a conversation with someone and saying, 'Maybe this was a misunderstanding and I am happy to have a conversation with you.' But not everybody is willing to do that and you can't go through life thinking you're going to be friends and everyone is going to like you."

Scooter also told the podcast that his purchase of Big Machine records wasn't made with bad intentions.

"I don't do anything with malicious intent. I try to do things above board. I try to do the right thing," he said. "Not everyone’s gonna be happy with everything that you do. And I think in the long-term, I’ve learned this over time, the truth always comes out, and I’m confident in that."

Though Scooter was publicly slammed, he said he's learned to put the hate aside. "I used to get really angry, but now I am at a place where this is just an opportunity for me long-term to really, truly show my truth.”

How has Scooter's artists responded?

We already know how Justin feels about the whole situation, but Scooter has a number of other artists that he manages. Ariana Grande deleted a part of her Instagram story congratulating Scooter on the sale. Demi Lovato, who just signed with Scooter about a month ago, had a lot to say about the whole ordeal. She first posted two new posts on her Instagram stories, saying that she is siding with Scooter and will always side with her team.

She also commented on Todrick Hall's Instagram post, saying that Scooter is not homophobic and that he should not be making claims like that.

How has Big Machine responded?

Scott Borchetta posted his side of the story on Big Machine's website saying that he did text Taylor the night before to let her know about the sale and even posted the contract that they offered her before she left the label.

"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," he wrote.

While Scott didn't post any screenshots of their conversation, he did note that the two of them kept in touch and often shared big news together through texts.

He also claims that he never heard of Taylor having any sort of issues with Scooter, but she did have some problems with Justin. Scott also brought up the fact that her dad is a shareholder, which means he may have known about the sale for some time. That being said, People recently reported that he was not a part of the sale since he would likely have to keep the details about it away from Taylor.

What happened that led to Taylor writing her letter?

Fans of both artists are very confused over what sparked their drama, but it all leads back to Scooter Braun. Taylor Swift was previously signed to Big Machine Records, before she switched record companies when her contract was up and moved to Republic Records. Her new album, Lover, will be her first one under Republic, which she is also releasing under her own sub-label, Taylor Swift Productions.

On June 30, it was announced that Scooter bought Big Machine records for $300 million. Due to Taylor's previous contract under Big Machine, she currently does not own any of the master rights for any of the songs/albums she recorded or released under that label. Master rights give the person who owns them the power to sell the right to the music for a variety of things like music samples, use in commercials or TV, or any other projects that may want to use it. Usually an artist will not own their own master recordings, but will still receive a percentage for every time the rights are sold for a project or they are paid over time as compensation.

Now that Scooter also owns Big Machine records, he now also owns the master rights to all of Taylor's music under that label. Usually, an artist is able to buy back their rights under certain circumstances, like a record label being bought out, but Taylor says she wasn't alerted about the sale and did not get the chance to do so.

What has Taylor said about Scooter?

In a new post on her Tumblr page, Taylor revealed that she has been bullied by Scooter Braun over the years and was particularly hurt by a post that Justin had on his Instagram page. The photo featured Scooter and Kanye West, who Taylor has had a feud with for years, on a FaceTime call with Justin with the caption, "Taylor swift what up." She also wrote that Scooter encouraged his artists to bully her over the years.

Taylor also mentioned the previous owner of Big Machine Records, Scott Borchetta, who she says knew about her not-so-great relationship with Scooter. She noted that she didn't know that Big Machine was being sold prior to the announcement hitting the news and that she was disappointed to hear that despite her constantly talking to Scott about how Scooter treated her, he would still sell him the label and the master rights to her music.

Taylor again opened up about all the drama in her cover interview for the September issue of Rolling Stone, saying that the whole thing was "shocking."

"The fact that those two are in business together after the things he said about Scooter Braun — it’s really hard to shock me. And this was utterly shocking,” she said.

Taylor also added that she felt that Scott and Scooter's deal was made with malicious intent.

“These are two very rich, very powerful men, using $300 million of other people’s money to purchase, like, the most feminine body of work. And then they’re standing in a wood-panel bar doing a tacky photoshoot, raising a glass of scotch to themselves. Because they pulled one over on me and got this done so sneakily that I didn’t even see it coming. And I couldn’t say anything about it.”

How has Justin responded to all of this?

While Justin is not directly involved in all of the drama, he did put up a new post on his Instagram page apologizing to Taylor for the photo that he posted years before. He mentions that the post was all his idea and that Scooter had nothing to do with the screenshot and the caption that he chose to put up. He also said that Scooter had asked him to take it easy on her.

Justin continues his caption by saying that Scooter has often had her back on things and that she shouldn't have posted the post about him in the first place. He also says that he was disappointed that she didn't reach out to them first.

Justin has since gone back to his old post and deleted the caption.

Has anyone else commented about this?

It seems like everyone in the music industry is taking a side of this feud. Halsey posted a message on her Instagram siding with Taylor on the whole ordeal.

Hailey Baldwin commented on his husband's Instagram post with a simple reply, "gentleman," referring to the way that he handled the situation.

Cara Delevingne later responded to Hailey's post, calling her out for standing up for Justin and not trying to understand Taylor's current situation.

Scooter's wife, Yael Cohen, called Taylor out for posting her message on Instagram and says that Taylor actually knew about the sale since her dad is on the the board for Big Machine Records. According to People, her dad was not involved in the sale and didn't know anything about it since he didn't want to hide things from Taylor in the first place.

Selena Gomez's mother, Mandy Teefy, also posted a statement on her Instagram account saying she is siding with Taylor and encouraging young artists to know more about what their contracts say before they sign them.

YouTuber Todrick Hall, who has worked with Taylor in the past, revealed that he was previously managed by Scooter and called him an "evil person who’s only concern is his wealth and feeding his disgusting ego."

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According to fans, several artists have been unfollowing Scooter on social media, including Rihanna Miley Cyrus, Lana Del Rey, Nicki Minaj, Adelen, and Camilla Cabello.

Ariana Grande, who is managed by Scooter, deleted a post on her Instagram story that congratulated him on the sale.

Katy Perry signed a petition asking for Taylor to re-record her music in order to get new rights to them.

Alessia Cara and Haim posted their reactions on their Instagram story, but Alessia's has since been deleted.

Iggy Azelea also responded to the news on Twitter, saying that this is something that has been in the works for a while and Taylor should've had the chance to buy her masters ahead of time.

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