By Aimee Bulger
Staff Writer
Scott Samuel Braun, better known as “Scooter Braun” has recently been dropped as a talent/music manager by many big names in the industry. Braun has been respected and admired in the talent management community, as he is credited with discovering Justin Bieber, as well as managing many of the biggest pop stars we know today, such as Ariana Grande and Demi Lovato.
However, this title may not be held for long, as both Grande and Lovato have parted ways with Braun and his team. According to an inside source who spoke to The Vulture, Grande’s reasoning for leaving Braun is that she has “outgrown” what he has to offer and is “excited to go in a different direction.”
The list of stars leaving Braun’s management continues to grow, according to The Vulture. As of May of this year, J Balvin, Indina Menzel, Carly Rae Jepsen, BabyJake and Asher Roth have all confirmed they are no longer under Braun’s management. Justin Bieber’s departure has been rumored as well; however, he still has time left on his contract, so his path remains unclear as of now.
Braun’s only response to the rumors and the memes that followed the announcements of departures was a tweet that read,“Breaking news … I’m no longer managing myself.” He is currently on a vacation trip with musical artist Usher.
Many fans of the departing artists cannot help but speculate, as no official reasons have been given, that the ending of these contracts may have been inspired by Taylor Swift. Braun famously and controversially purchased Big Machine Records, a management group, in 2019.
The sale included the legal rights to Swift’s first six albums, resulting in public outrage from fans and Swift herself, along with the current re-recording of those albums.
He later sold the rights to a private equity company, Shamrock Holdings, and prevented Swift from buying them back for herself, according to Hello Magazine. Artists such as Lovato spoke out in support of Swift, leaving fans questioning if this created the rift between Braun and his remaining artists.
Braun’s controversial actions, as well as reported less-than-favorable behaviors and comments that followed, all can be speculated as reasons as to why he is now losing clientele.
However, sources close to Braun claim the situation is being misrepresented.
“He’s getting out of management — he has been for years,” one source told The Vulture.
Variety reported that Braun is placing a larger amount of his focus in his CEO position at HYBE America, which famously represents the K-Pop group BTS.
Along with this, Braun continues to represent stars such as Tori Kelly, The Kid Laroi, Quavo, Black Eyed Peas, Dan + Shay, Ava Max and Zac Brown Band, to name a few.
While speculation and rumors continue to spread, Braun remains to be one of the internet's most discussed people at the moment. The notoriously-disliked music manager will likely continue to lose clients as he takes a larger step back from the industry.
