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Taylor Swift Blasts Scooter Braun During Epic ‘Billboard’ Speech: ‘I’m Not Going Willingly’
Sticking it to the ~the man!~ Taylor Swift slammed Scooter Braun and his supporters amid her drama with the music executive during her Billboard Woman of the Decade speech on Thursday, December 12. “That is the unregulated world of private equity coming in and buying up our music as if it’s real estate,” the 30-year-old began at the event in Los Angeles. “This just happened to me without my approval, consultation or consent. After I was denied the chance to purchase my music outright, my entire catalog was sold to Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings. To this day, none of these investors have ever [contacted me] or my team directly to perform their due diligence on their investment in me to ask how I might feel about the new owner of my art, my music, my handwriting. Of course, Scooter never contacted me or my team to discuss it prior to the sale or even when it was announced.”
The blonde beauty continued her statement by explaining her feud with the 38-year-old. In June, Taylor was very upset when she heard that Scooter bought her music catalog from her former label, Big Machine. Since then, the “Delicate” crooner has been fighting with her old label because of ownership rights. “Let me just say that the definition of toxic male privilege in our industry is people saying, ‘But he’s always been nice to me’ when I’m raising valid concerns about artists and their right to own their music,” she said. “Of course, he’s nice to people in this room, you have something he needs. The fact is that private equity is what enabled this man to think, according to his own social media posts, that he could ‘buy me.’ Well, I’m obviously not going willingly.”
Despite this rocky situation, the Pennsylvania native gave a sweet shout-out to some people who have helped her along the way. “Yet, the most amazing thing was to discover that it would be the women in our industry, who would have my back and show me the most vocal support at one of the most difficult times,” she shared. “I will never ever forget it. Like, ever.”
Before the American Music Awards in November, Taylor took to social media to share with her followers that there was a chance she wasn’t going to be able to perform her old bops during the televised event. “Right now, my performance at the AMAs, the Netflix documentary and any other recorded events I am planning to play until November of 2020 are a question mark,” she wrote on November 14. “I’m hoping that maybe they can talk some sense into the men who are exercising tyrannical control over someone who just wants to play the music she wrote.”
The following day, Big Machine Records released a statement and said Taylor’s claims were far from true. “Taylor, the narrative you have created does not exist,” the statement read. “To date, not one of the invitations to speak with us and work through this has been accepted. Rumors fester in the absence of communication … We share the collective goal of giving your fans the entertainment they both want and deserve.”
However, Scooter revealed he was worried about his family throughout this ordeal. “Since your public statement last week, there have been numerous death threats directed at my family,” he wrote on Instagram on November 22. “I am certain there is no situation ever worth jeopardizing anyone’s safety.”
Now, the Grammy winner is looking forward to recording her old tunes in the future. “The reason I’m re-recording my music next year is because I do want my music to live on,” she told Billboard magazine in an interview published on December 11. “It’s going to be fun because it’ll feel like regaining a freedom and taking back what’s mine. When I created [these songs], I didn’t know what they would grow up to be. Going back in and knowing that it meant something to people is actually a really beautiful way to celebrate what the fans have done for my music.”
We give Taylor so much credit for sticking up for herself. You’re a rockstar!
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