Scooter Braun insists he had no 'malicious intent' when buying Taylor Swift's back catalogue masters

Grammy-nominated manager Scott ‘Scooter’ Braun insisted he had no ‘malicious intent’ when he bought Big Machine Records – acquiring Taylor Swift’s back catalogue of master recordings.

‘I don’t do anything with malicious intent,’ the 38-year-old power broker told Tony Gonzalez’s Wide Open podcast on September 16.

‘I try to do things above board. I try to do the right thing. 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.’

Burning bridges: Grammy-nominated manager Scott ‘Scooter’ Braun (L) insisted he had no ‘malicious intent’ when he bought Big Machine Records – acquiring Taylor Swift’s (R) back catalogue of master recordings

The 29-year-old pop diva was outraged she wasn’t given the chance to buy back her first six albums before BMR boss Scott Borchetta scored the $300M deal from ‘manipulative bully’ Braun on June 28.

‘Scooter has stripped me of my life’s work,’ Taylor wrote on Tumblr at the time.

‘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 15 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.’

Swift continued: ‘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. Or when his client, Kanye West, organized a revenge porn music video which strips my body naked.’

The 38-year-old power broker told Tony Gonzalez’s (R) Wide Open podcast on September 16: ‘I try to do things above board. I try to do the right thing’

Scooter added: ‘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’

Blindsided: The 29-year-old pop diva was outraged she wasn’t given the chance to buy back her first six albums before BMR boss Scott Borchetta (L) scored the $300M deal from ‘manipulative bully’ Braun on June 28

The 10-time Grammy winner then told Rolling Stone this month that she was ‘utterly shocked’ the two Scotts were in business together after ‘the things he said about Scooter Braun.’

‘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,’ the Lover hitmaker blasted.

‘And then they’re standing in a wood-panel bar doing a tacky photo shoot, 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.’

Last year, Taylor signed with Universal Music Group and she released her first album called Lover under her new label on August 23, 2019.

Taylor wrote on Tumblr: ‘Scooter has stripped me of my life’s work. 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 15’ (pictured September 9)

Taylor Swift’s statement about Scooter Braun

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.

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.

‘These are two very rich, very powerful men, using $300M of other people’s money to purchase, like, the most feminine body of work’: Swift then told Rolling Stone this month that she was ‘utterly shocked’ the two Scotts were in business together

Sold out! The 10-time Grammy winner will next co-headline 97.1 AMP Radio’s seventh annual We Can Survive music festival taking place at the Hollywood Bowl on October 19

Swift will next co-headline 97.1 AMP Radio’s sold-out seventh annual We Can Survive music festival taking place at the Hollywood Bowl on October 19.

Meanwhile, Braun’s roster of celebrity clientele includes Ariana Grande, Kanye West, Usher, Karlie Kloss, Tori Kelly, Carly Rae Jepsen, The Black Eyed Peas, and Martin Garrix.

The former So So Def Recordings marketing executive famously discovered Grammy winner Justin Bieber in 2007 when he was a 13-year-old YouTube star living in Canada.

‘Proud of you Ari!’ Braun’s roster of celebrity clientele includes Ariana Grande (L, pictured July 16), Kanye West, Usher, Karlie Kloss, Tori Kelly, Carly Rae Jepsen, and The Black Eyed Peas

Throwback! The former So So Def Recordings marketing executive famously discovered Grammy winner Justin Bieber in 2007 when he was a 13-year-old YouTube star living in Canada

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk

Scooter Braun insists he had no ‘malicious intent’ when buying Taylor Swift’s back catalogue masters

Taylor Swift’s statement about Scooter Braun