Less than a week after it was reported Justin Bieber dropped Scooter Braun as his manager, and a day after Demi Lovato did the same, sources are saying Ariana Grande has also chosen to cut ties with the music mogul.
Of course, this all comes a few years after the huge Taylor Swift vs. Scooter Braun saga, which culminated in her rerecording her first six albums.
So who even is Scooter Braun, and what is going on between him and the pop stars?
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Scooter Braun’s history
Scooter Braun is a heavyweight of the American music industry, managing clients including Kanye West, Usher, Justin Bieber, and Ariana Grande.
Starting out as a music promoter, he dropped out of college and landed the head of marketing role at So So Def records, an Atlanta-based hip-hop recording label. In 2007, he was fired due to disputes with label execs, and launched his own company.
How did Scooter Braun become a manager?
Scooter Braun Projects was labelled a media company specialising in marketing and talent management, with rappers Ludacris and Asher Roth on his books.
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Braun discovered 12-year-old Justin Bieber singing on YouTube, and contacted his mother to fly Bieber to Atlanta for a chance at a record deal. Braun and Usher co-formed a media group to sign Bieber to a recording label, and the rest is history.
By 2013, he was named by Time as one of the most influential people in the world.
Did Justin Bieber leave Scooter Braun?
Neither party has confirmed anything, but multiple sources have reported that Bieber has been looking for alternative representation, and hasn’t spoken to Braun in months.
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A Puck report says that “lawyers are involved”, presumably to get Bieber out of the contract renewal he signed in 2021.
However, Us Weekly says reps for both parties have denied the story, calling it “not true.”
What happened between Ariana Grande and Scooter Braun?
According to reports, Ariana Grande has also split from Braun, after working together sine 2013.
In 2019, Braun forced Grande to include the song ghostin’ on her album, even though she felt it was too personal and didn’t want to share it with the public.
The song was written about her ex-boyfriend, Mac Miller, who died. During her 2019 appearance on the Zach Sang Show, Grande said: “It was a lot. It was too much, actually. I was literally begging Scooter to take it off. And he was like: ‘You’re thinking too hard now. This is special and you should share it with everybody.'”
That same year, Grande reportedly fired him temporarily. “He definitely gets involved in his clients’ business and personal relationships,” one source said. “At one point, Ariana fired him because she had had it.” They resumed their professional relationship six months later.
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A report from Business Insider alleged that Braun was heavily involved in the singer’s whirlwind romance, engagement, and break-up with Pete Davidson.
What celebrities does Scooter Braun manage?
Along with the aforementioned celebs including Bieber, Grande, and Lovato, Braun’s current roster of clients includes:
Ava MaxAshley GrahamBlack Eyed PeasCarly Rae JepsenDan + ShayDavid GuettaHilary DuffIdina MenzelKelly RowlandQuavoThe Kid LaroiTori Kelly
Does Scooter Braun manage Kanye West?
Braun managed Kanye West for two-and-a-half years, before the rap star fired him in 2018.
“I no longer have a manager,” West tweeted. “I can’t be managed.”
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What happened with Scooter Braun and Taylor Swift?
In 2019, Taylor Swift’s former label, Big Machine Records, sold the master recordings of her first six albums to Scooter Braun.
Swift and Braun had a history of not getting along, particularly because Braun managed Kanye West and Justin Bieber, whom Swift had very public feuds with.
Swift had no idea that her masters were sold to Braun, calling it her “worst case scenario” in an emotional Tumblr post. “I learned about Scooter Braun’s purchase of my masters as it was announced to the world,” she wrote at the time.
“All I could think about was the incessant, manipulative bullying I’ve received at his hands for years,” Swift continued, referring to the years-long battle she had with West, particularly when he released the song Famous.
Is Scooter Braun still making money from Taylor Swift?
In 2020, Braun sold Taylor Swift’s masters to US-based financial firm Shamrock Capital for US$405 million ($632 million).
That means he made a US$265 million ($413 million) profit off Swift’s catalog.
However, he is no longer making money from the singer’s music.
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Scooter Braun’s net worth
Scooter Braun’s net worth was pushed over one billion dollars when his holdings company, Ithaca, was acquired in 2021.
Braun is a prolific investor, plus the co-founder of multiple companies, the co-owner of an esports team, and the CEO of media company HYBE-America.