NEWS'It's Time for the Truth to Come Out': Taylor Swift Wasn't 'Blindsided' by Scooter Braun Purchasing Her Masters, Insists Insider
On Friday, July 7, Taylor Swift will release her album Speak Now (Taylor's Version), the third disc she rerecorded after Scooter Braun's company purchased the rights to her original masters.
The updated tracks have prompted music industry insiders to try and once again clear Braun of any wrongdoing.
In 2019, Braun's Ithaca Holdings purchased Scott Borchetta's Big Machine Records, meaning they obtained the masters of Swift's first six albums. The singer claimed she wasn't allowed to buy back her work outright — instead, she would "earn" back one original album for every new disc she put out under the new label.
The Grammy winner explained she found out about the transaction as the same time as the rest of the world, but a recent report showed that her father and manager, Scott Swift, was informed of the deal several days beforehand. However, it's still unclear if he told his daughter about the news as the details poured in.
Either way, since Scott was a shareholder at the time, he made $15 million in the deal. The songwriter was also still earning money from streaming revenue.
"It's time for the truth to come out rather than this version in which Taylor was somehow blindsided and wronged," a source recently told a news outlet. "Her team absolutely knew what was on the table."
"As for the story that Scooter never offered Taylor a chance to buy her catalog when he came to sell it the following year, that is just 100 percent not true," the insider continued, referring to when the entrepreneur offloaded the masters to private equity firm Shamrock Holdings.
Another source explained, "I think once Taylor crossed the line that day and tweeted that she learned everything at the same time as the rest of the world she was just going to hold onto that victim narrative because it worked for her."
"Her fans took it and ran with it," the second source added.
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A separate insider close to Braun said he's stayed quiet because he feared Swift's fans would revolt against him even more.
"Scooter always kind of took the high ground and didn't engage but it's incredibly frustrating to hear these things being said that just aren't true," shared the source. "As for this notion that anything was 'stolen' from her – she never owned her masters when she was at BMLG. Scott Borchetta BMLG's chief executive did."
But a source close to Swift said, “In 2020, the ability to evaluate any opportunity for Taylor to purchase her catalog was conditioned on signing a gag order NDA prohibiting her from ever speaking the truth about Scooter and the situation. Taylor has completely moved on from this saga, and has turned what started out as an extremely painful situation into one of most fulfilling creative endeavors of her life.”
Daily Mail reported on the update ahead of Speak Now (Taylor's Version) release.
