Who is controversial music manager Scooter Braun? Known for his rift with Taylor Swift, the pop mogul posted a cryptic tweet amid Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande and Demi Lovato exodus rumours

Aug 25 , 2023

Music executive Scooter Braun, left, appears with Justin Bieber at the World Premiere of Justin Bieber’s Believe in Los Angeles, in December 2013. Photo: Invision/AP

Well-known music manager Scooter Braun appears to have found himself in a bit of a firestorm. He seemed to offer a sly wink in a somewhat cryptic tweet posted on August 22 to his 3.5 million followers.

“Breaking news …. I’m no longer managing myself,” read the post.

The story began unfolding the previous week when Los Angeles-based Braun – who has been instrumental in the careers of the world’s biggest pop stars – was suddenly losing his clients.

It all started with rumours that Justin Bieber was decamping, according to AP. (The star was essentially discovered by Braun.) That seemed then to have led to even more attrition – Ariana Grande and Demi Lovato were also speculated to be jumping ship, states the same source.

If indeed Braun, 42, is losing his footing in the multibillion-dollar music industry, there may not be a lot of love lost. Despite his monumental success, Braun has also been something of a polarising figure, especially after his very public spat with Taylor Swift.

Taylor Swift performs at Wango Tango, at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, in June 2019. Photo: AP

In June 2019, Braun spent US$330 million through his company Ithaca Holdings to acquire record label Big Machine, per MusicFeeds. The deal automatically gave Braun rights over Swift’s masters, meaning that the songstress would have to ask for permission, and pay a licensing fee, to play her own music in TV shows, films or ads, per Vox.

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Swift immediately took to social media, rallied by her millions of fans, accusing Big Machine of betraying her and Braun of “incessant, manipulative bullying”. The rift persisted for a couple of years until Swift started re-recording her masters, ultimately trumping Braun.

Scooter Braun with BTS at the White House in June 2022. Photo: @scooterbraun/Instagram

But none of that seemed to halt Braun’s march to music world domination. The man who also represented stars such as Black Eyed Peas and Carly Rae Jepsen under his SB Projects management company, sold his Ithaca Holdings company in a billion-dollar merger to South Korean studio Hybe, the people who gave the world BTS, according to Vox. Braun became the US CEO of the company.

According to Valiant CEO Magazine, Braun was born Scott Samuel Braun in New York City and grew up in Queens where he lived with his four siblings – two of whom were adopted from Mozambique.

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The source states that Braun went to Emory University in Atlanta but dropped out before graduating. He went on to work for rapper Jermaine Dupri, specifically for Dupri’s So So Def label as head of marketing.

He had come to Dupri’s attention as a club promoter when he was just 19, planning after-parties for the likes of Ludacris and Eminem. Without so much as a completed university education, he went on to broker a US$12 million deal between Ludacris and car maker Pontiac, per Valiant CEO Magazine.

Justin Bieber and Scooter Braun at the Justice World Tour in February 2022. Photo: @scooterbraun/Instagram

In a history-making turn, Braun saw then-12-year old Justin Bieber on a 2007 YouTube video – and was immediately struck by the young teen’s talent and potential. He began working with him and turned him into most successful and highest-grossing pop stars on the planet. Braun also produced Bieber’s 2011 documentary, Never Say Never.

In 2013, Braun made Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world. He is known as having something of a golden touch, being able to turn his clients’ fortunes around; when Braun first began working with Kanye West, the rapper was US$56 million in debt, as reported by MTV.

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By the time the two parted ways in 2018, West was a reported billionaire, with West describing his former manager as “the only manager who ever gave me the keys,” per Valiant CEO.

Scooter Braun at the White House. Photo: @scooterbraun/Instagram

Not everyone loves and admires Braun so. A piece in Variety described Braun as “famously hard-charging”, claiming that his rise to fame has resulted in a kind of “snowballing mob mentality”.

Still, Braun has a knack for always coming out on top. And it is very likely that he will do so again.

Fame and celebrity

Scooter Braun, the music manager behind SB Projects, is no stranger to the headlines, having been caught up in a very public rift with Taylor Swift back in 2019 when he acquired Big Machine
He recently shared a cryptic tweet after rumours that Bieber would be parting ways with the entrepreneur, and previously sold his Ithaca Holdings company to Hybe, the company behind BTS