Singing sensation Taylor Swift took to Tumblr last Sunday to air out her grievances about Scooter Braun acquiring her songs with Big Machine Label Group.
Taylor Swift is “Grossed Out”
In her lengthy Tumblr post, she explained that she has been bullied by Braun, who manages other big artists such as Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande and the Zac Brown Band, for years.
Having Braun’s Ithaca Holdings acquired her former label, Big Machine Label Group, prevents Swift from owning the first six albums in her catalog.
“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 also shared the excruciating decision to leave the label in pursuit of growth and freedom.
For You
“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.”
Swift continues saying that this is one of the worst possible things that could have happened to her.
“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.”
Despite this, she ended her post in a positive and hopeful stance.
“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.”
