While managing stars like Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande, Braun also found himself embroiled in a high-profile feud with Swift.
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.
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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.
