Pop
Scooter Braun still doesn't get the Taylor Swift masters fallout
Scooter Braun says he still doesn’t grasp why Taylor Swift’s masters dispute became part of his life, insisting he barely knows the singer and wishes her well.
Scooter Braun has claimed he’s still confused about how the Taylor Swift masters saga became one of the biggest music bust‑ups of the decade.
The talent boss sparked global headlines in 2019 when he snapped up Big Machine Label Group in a deal said to be worth around $300 million, giving him control of Swift’s first six albums - from her self‑titled debut through to Reputation.
Swift hit back at the time, saying she was never offered the chance to buy her own work.
The catalogue was later flipped to Shamrock Capital, pushing her to start re‑recording the albums and eventually regain ownership in a $360 million deal.
Speaking on the Second Thought with Suzy Weiss podcast, Braun insisted he had almost no relationship with Swift before the backlash.
He said: “I don’t know Taylor Swift. I think I’ve met her three times.
“I have never had a substantial conversation with her.”
Braun said he genuinely believed buying Big Machine would open the door to working with her.
He said: “You don’t spend $300 million buying a label she’s on unless you’re excited at the opportunity.
“I will never truly understand that situation. To this day, I wish her nothing but the best.”
He added that he hadn’t spoken to Swift for years before the deal went through.
He said: “The party was like two or three years earlier, and then never had any contact through the whole thing.
“So I’m just as confused that this is part of my life as you are. But I choose to learn and grow from it.”
Braun says Swift prompted other artists to seek ownership of their masters.
He said: “The majority of masters are still owned by labels.
“What it did bring to light is that artists are going to start wanting to own their masters - and you’re seeing that more and more, and I think that’s great.”
