Music manager Scooter Braun has spoken about his long-running dispute with Taylor Swift, saying he barely knew the singer when he bought Big Machine Label Group in 2019. Braun purchased the company through his investment firm, Ithaca Holdings, in a deal valued at about $300 million. That acquisition gave him control of the master recordings for Swift’s first six studio albums, which she released while signed to Big Machine Records before later moving to Universal Music Group’s Republic Records.
In a recent appearance on the “Second Thought” podcast with Suzy Weiss, Braun said he did not have a close relationship with Swift and claimed they had met only a few times. He said they never had a substantial conversation and recalled being invited to a private party by Swift before the conflict escalated. According to Braun, he told her he respected her work, and he believed the label purchase created an opportunity to collaborate rather than conflict.
The feud became public in June 2019, when Swift criticized Braun in a Tumblr post. She said he had “stripped” her of her life’s work and argued that she was not given a chance to buy back her music. Swift said her musical legacy would be controlled by someone who had tried to dismantle it. The post sparked widespread attention and became one of the most talked-about disputes in the music industry.
Swift responded to the loss of her masters by rerecording four of the six albums, releasing them under the name “Taylor’s Version.” The project allowed her to reclaim ownership and control over much of the music tied to her early career. In May 2025, Swift announced on her official website that she had regained control of all her master recordings for an undisclosed sum. She said she was overwhelmed with joy and called the moment a major personal and professional victory.
Braun said Swift’s Tumblr post left him confused and repeated that he believed the situation had been misunderstood by the public. He said people often assume they knew each other well or had a long professional partnership, but he said that was not the case. Braun added that he has learned from the controversy and has moved on. He also said he wishes Swift nothing but success and maintains that the experience was misread as a personal feud between two people who, by his account, did not really know each other.
