Music Mega-Manager And Taylor Swift Foe, Scooter Braun, Announces Retirement

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Music industry power-player Scooter Braun has announced his retirement from managing artists, years after reportedly stepping back from his role shaping the careers of artists like Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber and Demi Lovato.

Braun reflected on his 23 years in the entertainment industry in a lengthy statement on Instagram on Monday, where he said he was shifting his focus toward his family and his role as CEO of HYBE America.

“I have been blessed to have had a ‘Forrest Gump’-like life while witnessing and taking part in the journeys of some of the most extraordinarily talented people the world has ever seen,” he wrote. “I’m constantly pinching myself and asking ‘how did I get here?’ And after 23 years this chapter as a music manager has come to an end.”

Best known for elevating “Baby” singer Bieber from a YouTube talent to a multi-platinum, global superstar, Braun also worked with pop darling Carly Rae Jepsen, country duo Dan + Shay, reggaeton sensation J Balvin, rapper Quavo of Migos, country giant Zac Brown, singer-songwriter Tori Kelly and DJ David Guetta, among others.

Braun’s reputation as a star-maker began to be overshadowed by intra-industry controversy in 2019 after he acquired the rights to Taylor Swift’s first six albums via his purchase of her one-time label, Big Machine Record Group.

The “Love Story” singer characterized Braun’s business move as a personal attack, calling herself the victim of the industry bigwig’s “incessant, manipulative bullying” in a statement on Tumblr.

The feud, bolstered by Swift’s faithful fanbase, would endure for years and also prompted the singer to start rerecording her first six albums in an effort to reclaim ownership of her music.

Braun alluded to the Swift drama in his retirement statement, saying, “When we had success I smiled, and when we were attacked I always tried to take the high road. But for the last 3 years I have begin to feel that taking the high road has created confusion and ambiguity as to who we are.”

In 2020, he was able to sell Swift’s early catalog to Shamrock Capital for $300 million. The next year, he offloaded his investment group, Ithaca Holdings, to K-Pop juggernauts HYBE for a staggering $1.05 billion.

Rumors that Braun’s longtime clients like Bieber, Grande and Lovato were looking to part ways with their manager began gaining traction last summer.

Around that time, a source close to the music mogul told Variety that Braun had been looking to get out of the management space “for years.”

Amid the alleged exodus of artists, Braun made light of the situation on X, then known as Twitter.

“Breaking news… I’m no longer managing myself,” he wrote in a post last August.

Check out Braun’s full statement above.

Scooter Braun retires as music manager after 23 years

Music mogul Scooter Braun has announced his retirement from talent management after 23 years.

The entrepreneur, 42, said he has stepped back to focus on his role as a father, as well as chief executive of entertainment company HYBE America.

Last year, it was reported that a number of Braun’s high-profile clients, including Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber, were parting ways with the manager.

In a nearly 1,400-word statement posted to his Instagram account, Braun said he is now “a father first, a CEO second, and a manager no more”.

New York-born Braun is one the world’s most successful music managers.

His big break came in 2008, when he spotted a 12-year-old Justin Bieber singing on YouTube.

He tracked the youngster down through his school, asking board members to put him in touch with Bieber’s mother, and signed him to a record label he had formed with R&B star Usher.

Braun’s other clients have included Demi Lovato, David Guetta, Black Eyed Peas, Ava Max, Carly Rae Jepsen and Quavo.

Braun said he decided to step away from music management after “one of my biggest clients and friends told me that they wanted to spread their wings and go in a new direction”.

He did not say who the client was.

Braun said despite working “24 hours a day, seven days a week” for his “entire adult life”, it was “time to step into a new role”.

“As my children got older, and my personal life took some hits, I came to the realisation that my kids were three superstars I wasn’t willing to lose,” he said.

“The sacrifices I was once willing to make I could no longer justify.”

Braun is also well-known for his feud with Taylor Swift, which began in 2019 when he bought her former record label Big Machine for $300m (£227m) through his investment group Ithaca Holdings.

It meant he gained control of the master recordings of Swift’s first six albums.

In response, Swift blocked requests for her music to be used in TV shows and films – cutting off a vital source of income for Braun’s investment group.

She then started re-recording all of her old material, reclaiming ownership of the albums and further devaluing the originals.