Latest news with #BigMachineRecords
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Scooter Braun Calls Taylor Swift the ‘Biggest Artist of All Time,' Addresses Whether ‘Vigilante S–t' Is About Him
Scooter Braun is once again addressing his feud with Taylor Swift. While speaking to Danielle Robay on the Thursday (July 17) episode of her Question Everything podcast, the former music manager opened up about the misunderstandings he thinks took place in his famous feud with the pop star before addressing whether her song 'Vigilante Shit' is about him. When the topic of his conflict with Swift — which sprung out of Braun acquiring her catalog in his 2019 purchase of Big Machine Records — first came up, the businessman said frankly, 'I think going backwards and revisiting this is a waste of time.' More from Billboard Taylor Swift & Scooter Braun's Feud: A Timeline K-pop Rules as Netflix's 'KPop Demon Hunters' Soundtrack Holds ARIA No. 1 Max McNown Expands 'Night Diving' With 11 New Songs: Stream It Now Even so, Braun went on to rehash his perspective on what transpired with Swift, who was outspoken in her opposition to the SB Projects founder's purchase of her masters from the start. At the time, she accused him of 'incessant, manipulative bullying' in a Tumblr post, and when Braun later sold Swift's catalog to Shamrock Holdings in 2020, the 14-time Grammy winner claimed that he 'would never even quote my team a price' without her first signing an NDA, which Swift refused. 'The only thing I didn't appreciate is it was so public without an understanding of what was actually going on,' Braun reflected in the interview. 'When Taylor says that she wasn't offered the masters, the reason I was under NDA was because we were in negotiations to sell it back to her. I just choose to believe her that maybe [her team] didn't tell her.' 'For me, the only thing that I really regret is that it's easy to [see someone as] a monster if you never meet them,' he continued. 'Taylor and I have only met three times in our life. I think at that point we hadn't seen each other in two, three years. I was managing people she wasn't a fan of, and she probably saw my name come up and was like, 'I don't like those people, so I don't like him.' But we never had an opportunity to sit in front of each other and have a conversation, to this day.' At the time of the catalog purchase, Braun — who has since retired from management — represented Justin Bieber and Kanye West, both of whom Swift has clashed with in the past. In her 2019 Tumblr post responding to the initial sale of her masters, she shared a screenshot of an Instagram post from Bieber featuring Braun and West with the caption, 'Taylor swift what's up.' Though he wishes things had played out differently, Braun says he's still heartened by the fact that 'everyone in the end won.' 'When [Swift] turned it down, we ended up selling it to someone else, because she didn't want us to have it,' he told Robay. 'We did very well in that sale, because we bought it at a really great price, and the value of the masters went up.' Billboard has reached out to Swift's rep for comment. As Braun pointed out, the value of the musician's old catalog heightened as she embarked on her Taylor's Version series, re-recording four of her first six albums to reclaim ownership of her work. The project manifested in the record-breaking success of her Eras Tour, which led to her becoming a billionaire and eventually having the chance to finally purchase her masters from Shamrock this past May. 'She did incredibly well and basically had the biggest moment of her career,' Braun praised Swift, calling her the 'biggest artist of all time.' 'It was brilliant on her part. But also, each time she released [a re-recorded album], you saw a spike in the original catalog, and that's how we were able to tell, 'OK, if she doesn't want them, this is still a really great asset.'' That said, Swift seemingly hasn't softened in her opinions on Braun since the beginning of their feud. In her December 2023 TIME Person of the Year interview, she doubled down on her stance that the mogul wanted her catalog for 'nefarious reasons' — something he said on Question Everything doesn't make 'any sense' from a 'financial standpoint' — and fans have long assumed that Swift has written about the situation on songs such as Folklore's 'My Tears Ricochet' and Evermore's 'It's Time to Go.' As for one such song — 'Vigilante Shit,' on which Swift sings, 'Picture me thick as thieves with your ex-wife' — Braun laughed when asked whether he thinks it's about him. The entrepreneur was previously married to Yael Cohen, but he filed for divorce in 2021. 'No, 'cause I talk to Yael every day,' Braun told Robay, brushing off the possibility of his marriage inspiring the Midnights track. 'My ex-wife is one of my best friends. Me and my ex-wife laugh about that stuff — we don't even call each other 'ex.' That's like my partner. That's the mother of my children. That is my family for life. So no, I never thought that was about us. Great strategy move, but nah.' Watch Braun's full interview on Question Everything above. Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart Solve the daily Crossword
Buzz Feed
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
Scooter Braun Denies Taylor Swift Song Is About Him
It's fair to say that since 2019, Scooter Braun's name has been most prominently associated with Taylor Swift, with the singer publicly putting him on blast after his company, Ithaca Holdings, bought her old record label, Big Machine Records, from her former manager, Scott Borchetta, for $300 million. If you need reminding, the deal meant that Scooter would profit from the sales and use of all of the music that Taylor released through Big Machine during her 10-year contract with them, which included her first six albums. Prior to this point, Scooter had managed both Justin Bieber and Kanye West, with Taylor embroiled in a pretty infamous feud with the latter for several years. The feud had reignited in 2016, and at the peak of her downfall, Justin posted a screenshot of a FaceTime call with laughing Scooter and Kanye to his Instagram page alongside the goading caption: 'Taylor swift what up."Which is why it's pretty unsurprising that Taylor wasn't exactly thrilled that Scooter now owned her life's work, and she addressed this in a lengthy Tumblr post shortly after news of the Big Machine sale went public. In the statement, Taylor said she didn't sign a new contract with Big Machine because she knew Scott was planning to sell. She also revealed that she rejected a new contract even though it offered her the opportunity to 'earn' the rights to one old album for every new one she released. The star then said that Scott selling to Scooter was her 'worst case scenario' as she called out the 'incessant, manipulative bullying' she'd received at Scooter's hands over the years. Taylor went on to allege that Scooter had 'stripped' her of her life's work that she 'wasn't given the opportunity to buy.' '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,' she wrote. 'Any time Scott Borchetta has heard the words 'Scooter Braun' escape my lips, it was when I was either crying or trying not to.'Scooter has addressed the situation several times over the years, and previously said that he thought it was 'unfair' how everything went down so publicly, and that he thought he'd have the opportunity to 'be in business' with Taylor. The music exec ended up selling Taylor's catalog, including all associated videos and artwork, to Shamrock Holdings for over $300 million in October 2020 — just over a year after he bought Big following month, Taylor issued a statement revealing that she and Scooter's respective teams had been in negotiations for her to regain ownership of the masters, but she backed out when his team allegedly asked her to sign an 'ironclad NDA' stating she would never say another word about Scooter 'unless it was positive.'She went on to explain that while she had been 'open' to partner with Shamrock when they initially reached out to her, she was left dismayed to learn that the terms of Scooter's sale meant that his company would continue to profit from her work. 'As soon as we started communication with Shamrock, I learned that under their terms Scooter Braun will continue to profit off my old musical catalog for many years,' Taylor wrote. 'I was hopeful and open to the possibility of a partnership with Shamrock, but Scooter's participation is a non-starter for me.'As you probably know, this whole situation led to Taylor rerecording her first six albums — complete with brand new tracks 'from the vault' — in order to have ownership of her music, and she only had her self-titled debut and 2016 album Reputation left to re-release when she announced earlier this year that she'd bought the rights to the original master recordings from Shamrock for a reported $360 million. And Scooter has now opened up some more about this whole experience during a recent appearance on the Question Everything podcast, where he even shut down a years-old fan theory that one of Taylor's most brutal revenge songs, 'Vigilante Shit,' is about him. Speaking to host Danielle Robay, he admitted that it feels like a 'waste of time' to rehash the six-year-old situation all over again, before doubling down on his past claims that Taylor's team had actually been in negotiation to buy her masters from him when she published that original Tumblr post. 'When Taylor says that she wasn't offered the masters, the reason I was under NDA was because we were in negotiations to sell it back to her,' he claimed. 'I just choose to believe her that maybe they [her team] didn't tell her.''Taylor and I have only met three times in our life, and I think at that point we hadn't seen each other in two, three years,' Scooter went on. 'I was managing people she wasn't a fan of, and she probably saw my name come up and was like: 'I don't like those people, so I don't like him.' But we never had an opportunity to sit in front of each other and actually have a conversation to this day.'He also shut down Taylor's claim that he wanted her masters for 'nefarious reasons,' saying: 'I don't have any nefarious reasons… That was a major risk for me at the time, to buy that company. I couldn't afford to do it for nefarious reasons, like, just from a financial standpoint, that doesn't make any sense. I needed her to be successful for me to take that risk. There's nothing nefarious about it.''I just wish that it didn't take such a toll on my family,' Scooter then said. 'It was a very tough time for us, because there's a lot of people out there that don't understand, and they hear this stuff and they take it to a level that's really not OK.' Scooter was married to Yael Cohen when all of this was going down, with the two splitting in 2021. The couple share three children: 10-year-old Jagger, 9-year-old Levi, and 7-year-old Hart, and Scooter revealed that somebody said something 'very mean' to Jagger because of the messy Taylor situation. 'My kids were really young then,' he said when asked if he'd discussed what went down with them. 'But my oldest is 10, and someone said something very mean to him at school… But the beautiful thing is, I didn't have to talk that much because my kids know who their dad is.' One year after the breakdown of Scooter and Yael's marriage, Taylor released her 2022 album Midnights, which includes the brutal revenge song 'Vigilante Shit' that many interpreted to be about Scooter. 'She needed cold, hard proof, so I gave her some / She had the envelope, where you think she got it from?' Taylor sings. '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 / Driving in your Benz / Lately she's been dressing for revenge.''Did you ever think these [lyrics] were about you?' Danielle bluntly asked Scooter on the podcast, and he immediately insisted that they weren't. 'No, because I talk to Yael every day,' he retorted. 'My ex-wife is one of my best friends, so me and my ex-wife laugh about that stuff. We don't even call each other ex. That's like my partner, you know? That's the mother of my children. That is my family for life.' 'I have a tattoo on my finger that says: 'Same team' after my divorce, because she and I are same team for life,' he continued. 'It's what we say to each other. So, no, I never thought that was about us, she never thought it was about us, and everyone else kind of feeding into the fire… Great strategy move, but, like, no.' Elsewhere in the podcast, Scooter insisted that everybody involved in the masters mess ended up winning in the end, saying: 'She could have bought them back and that could have been part of the victory… But I choose to think her team maybe didn't tell her. But when they turned it down, we ended up selling it to someone else because she didn't want us to have it. We did very well in that sale because we bought it at a really great price, and the value of the masters went up.' Scooter explained that Taylor's re-records actually resulted in the original recordings getting more listeners because people would play them to compare the tracks, profiting Shamrock. 'She did incredibly well and basically had the biggest moment of her career, reinvigorating her career with each one,' he said. 'It was brilliant on her part. But also, each time she released one, you saw a spike in the original catalog.''So, funny enough, everyone involved in the saga, from a business standpoint, won,' Scooter concluded. 'She's the biggest she's ever been, biggest artist of all time. We did really well with the asset. The people who bought the asset did really well because of those spikes.'He then added: 'I wish kids and people out there understood that, like, there are scenarios in life where there doesn't need to be an oppressor and oppressed, there are scenarios in life where it's a misunderstanding, yet everyone can succeed.' What do you make of Scooter's latest comments? Let me know down below!
Perth Now
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Scooter Braun not 'affected' by Taylor Swift row
Scooter Braun has insisted his public falling out with Taylor Swift didn't "affect" him. In 2019, the 44-year-old music manager bought the Bad Blood singer's former record label Big Machine Records and her master recordings, which he then sold on to Shamrock Capital in 2020, much to the fury of Taylor - who reacquired ownership of the recordings earlier this year - because she wasn't offered the chance to buy them herself. And despite the backlash to his business decision, Scooter insisted the public outcry didn't have any impact on him, unlike the 2021 breakdown of his marriage to Yael Cohen, the mother of his three children. Scooter - whose real first name is Scott - told Danielle Robay on her Question Everything podcast: "No one in my family had ever been divorced. "And at that time, I had built up this foundation of Scooter because I didn't think Scott was strong enough. I didn't know that yet. "So having the perfect career, the perfect wife, the perfect life, the kids, the success, I thought that made me worthy of love. And it wasn't until our marriage came apart and I couldn't fix it. I felt like a failure because I didn't have a foundation. "But it was the greatest thing that ever happened to me because the ups and downs of artist life, the Taylor stuff, none of that actually affected me. Losing my marriage affected me." Scooter also dismissed speculation that Taylor's 2022 track Vigilante S*** was about his divorce. He said: "No, because I talk to Yael every day. "My ex-wife is one of my best friends, so me and my ex-wife laugh about that stuff. We don't even call each other ex. That's like my partner, that's the mother of my children. "I have a tattoo on my finger that says 'same team' after my divorce because she and I are on the same team for life. That's what we say to each other. "So no, I never thought that was about us. She never thought it was about us and everyone else kind of feeding into the fire. "Great strategy move, but nah." On Vigilante S***, Taylor sings about befriending an ex-wife. The lyrics include: "She needed cold hard proof so I gave her some, she had the envelope, where you think she got it from? 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, driving in your Benz, lately she's been dressing for revenge."
Daily Mail
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Country singer Conner Smith charged after deadly car accident with elderly pedestrian
Country star Conner Smith has been charged after he struck and killed an elderly woman with his vehicle on the night of Sunday, June 8. The 24-year-old singer hit a woman identified as Dorothy Dobbins, 77, with his Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck in Nashville. Smith — who is signed to a subsidiary of Big Machine Records, Taylor Swift's old label — hit Dobbins when she was walking in a marked crosswalk. Dobbins was transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center and died there, according to police, who noted that she lived near the crosswalk where Smith hit her. According to a statement released by the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department on July 10 Smith has been charged with Failure to Yield the Right of Way Resulting in Death (a Class A misdemeanor). Smith has been issued a misdemeanor state citation. He is to appear for booking on the citation on August 7. As a misdemeanor instead of a felony, the charge underscores a lack of criminal intent, a source told Smith's attorney, Worrick G. Robinson IV said in a statement: 'Conner is incredibly grateful to the MNPD for their time and efforts to carefully investigate this tragic accident and has continued to cooperate at all times. 'His thoughts remain with Ms. Dobbins' family, and he remains committed to honoring her memory with compassion by supporting efforts to improve pedestrian safety and help prevent future tragedies.' Smith posted his own statement to Instagram which read: 'Four weeks ago, I was involved in a tragic vehicle accident that resulted in the loss of a life. Not a day has gone by that I haven't grieved, prayed, and mourned for Ms. Dobbins and her family. 'My heart is broken in a way I've never experienced, and I still struggle to fully process the weight of it all. I ask that you continue to lift the Dobbins family up in prayer by name, asking for God's peace to surround them each day.' 'Out of respect for everyone involved and to give space for grieving, I made the decision to step away from shows these past few weeks. I have always found that making music and playing shows is a place of healing for me – but for this moment, it was important for me to take time away. 'I'm thankful to serve a God who is near to the brokenhearted, and I have leaned on Him every step of the way. Through tragedy, I have learned that God is more faithful than I could have ever known before.' Sources said Smith was 'not under the influence or distracted by his phone at the time of the crash.' They added Smith 'is encouraged by Nashville's efforts to improve safety at the crosswalk where the accident occurred, because since the incident, multiple signs have been installed to clearly indicate the crosswalk for both drivers and pedestrians, and a tree that had significantly obstructed the view of the crosswalk has been removed.' TMZ first reported that Smith had allegedly struck and killed Dobbins. Sources at the scene added that police quickly released the singer as he allegedly didn't show signs of obvious impairment The deadly incident occurred on the final day of CMA Fest 2025 in Nashville's Riverfront Park. Smith had performed at the festival on its Chevy Riverfront stage on Saturday, June 7, the day before the crash. Smith is a recording artist for Big Machine Records' sub-label Valory. He's best known for the viral hit I Hate Alabama, which was released in late 2021 and became a sensation with TikTok users. Buzz from the song led to his record deal, which he inaugurated with his 2022 EP Didn't Go Too Far. His 2023 singles Take It Slow and Creek Will Rise have both been certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and the latter run also became a top-20 hit on Billboard's US Country Airplay chart.
Daily Mail
11-07-2025
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Country singer Conner Smith charged after deadly car accident with elderly pedestrian
Country star Conner Smith has been charged after he struck and killed an elderly woman with his vehicle on the night of Sunday, June 8. The 24-year-old singer hit a woman identified as Dorothy Dobbins, 77, with his Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck in Nashville. Smith — who is signed to a subsidiary of Big Machine Records, Taylor Swift's old label — hit Dobbins when she was walking in a marked crosswalk. Dobbins was transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center and died there, according to police, who noted that she lived near the crosswalk where Smith hit her. According to a statement released by the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department on July 10 Smith has been charged with Failure to Yield the Right of Way Resulting in Death (a Class A misdemeanor). Smith has been issued a misdemeanor state citation. He is to appear for booking on the citation on August 7. Country star Conner Smith has been charged after he struck and killed an elderly woman with his vehicle on the night of Sunday, June 8; Smith is pictured in November 2024 in Nashville, Tenn. As a misdemeanor instead of a felony, the charge underscores a lack of criminal intent, a source noted to TMZ. Smith's attorney, Worrick G. Robinson IV told the publication: 'Conner is incredibly grateful to the MNPD for their time and efforts to carefully investigate this tragic accident and has continued to cooperate at all times. 'His thoughts remain with Ms. Dobbins' family, and he remains committed to honoring her memory with compassion by supporting efforts to improve pedestrian safety and help prevent future tragedies.' Smith posted a statement to Instagram which read: 'Four weeks ago, I was involved in a tragic vehicle accident that resulted in the loss of a life. Not a day has gone by that I haven't grieved, prayed, and mourned for Ms. Dobbins and her family. 'My heart is broken in a way I've never experienced, and I still struggle to fully process the weight of it all. I ask that you continue to lift the Dobbins family up in prayer by name, asking for God's peace to surround them each day.' 'Out of respect for everyone involved and to give space for grieving, I made the decision to step away from shows these past few weeks. I have always found that making music and playing shows is a place of healing for me – but for this moment, it was important for me to take time away. 'I'm thankful to serve a God who is near to the brokenhearted, and I have leaned on Him every step of the way. Through tragedy, I have learned that God is more faithful than I could have ever known before.' Sources said Smith was 'not under the influence or distracted by his phone at the time of the crash.' They added Smith 'is encouraged by Nashville's efforts to improve safety at the crosswalk where the accident occurred, because since the incident, multiple signs have been installed to clearly indicate the crosswalk for both drivers and pedestrians, and a tree that had significantly obstructed the view of the crosswalk has been removed.' TMZ first reported that Smith had allegedly struck and killed Dobbins. Sources at the scene added that police quickly released the singer as he allegedly didn't show signs of obvious impairment The deadly incident occurred on the final day of CMA Fest 2025 in Nashville's Riverfront Park. Smith had performed at the festival on its Chevy Riverfront stage on Saturday, June 7, the day before the crash. Smith is a recording artist for Big Machine Records' sub-label Valory. He's best known for the viral hit I Hate Alabama, which was released in late 2021 and became a sensation with TikTok users. Buzz from the song led to his record deal, which he inaugurated with his 2022 EP Didn't Go Too Far. His 2023 singles Take It Slow and Creek Will Rise have both been certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and the latter run also became a top-20 hit on Billboard's US Country Airplay chart.
