Scooter Braun's Ithaca Holdings buys Big Machine Label Group for $300 million

Scooter Braun Acquires Scott Borchetta's Big Machine Label Group, Taylor Swift Catalog For Over $300 Million

 

Taylor Swift Slams Scooter Braun for 'Manipulative Bullying' After He Acquires Her Music Catalog

 

Welcome to the world of Paul McCartney having to live with Michael Jackson buying his publishing, Taylor. Her new deal gives her ownership of her masters, but, like so many recording artists before her, she’s never going to control the masters from her first recording contract.

 

Celebs Support Taylor Swift After Scooter Braun Buys Her Music Catalogue – Hollywood Life

 

Her post is ridiculous. Most artists don't own their masters. They offered her a way to get them back (resigning with them) and she declined. She wanted them back but was unwilling to give up something in return (either resigning or buying the label). Her father was in position to know the label was up for sale and Billboard reports that, contrary to her Tumblr post, she has known about Braun's purchase since at least June 25:

Taylor Swift On Scooter Braun Acquiring Her Big Machine Catalog: 'This Is My Worst Case Scenario'

 

This is “the business” and artists don’t get to choose who buys the rights to their music or their work on a label they leave for another one.

 

Borchetta has responded with copies of his last contract offer to her (before she signed with Universal) and texts from her:
So, It’s Time For Some Truth…

Contrary to what she was claiming about their offer (one master for one new album), "100% of all Taylor Swift assets were to be transferred to her immediately upon signing the new agreement" including her masters and in texts to him explains why she is leaving for Universal,"Owning my masters was very important to me, but I’ve since realized that there are things that mean even more to me in the bigger picture."

 

In other words, Taylor was lying according to Scott Borchetta.

 

Reading the proposal that Borchetta submitted, his counteroffer actually would have kept all her already existing masters under the effective control of Big Machine for the next ten years. And that would have been in exchange for her re-signing with Big Machine, something she clearly did not want to do. Her new deal gives her control of her masters recorded going forward from day one.

 

Taylor's rep is shooting down the idea that her father was part of the Big Machine board of directors and insisting he was simply a shareholder who opted out of a phone call with the big news. The rep told People, "Scott Swift is not on the board of directors and has never been. On June 25, there was a shareholder phone call that Scott Swift did not participate in due to a very strict NDA that bound all shareholders and prohibited any discussion at all without risk of severe penalty." The rep went on to say that Taylor's dad didn't want to withhold info from his daughter, so he didn't join the call. Taylor's camp is also refuting Yael's notion that Scott Borchetta gave Taylor a heads-up about the purchase beforehand, saying ... "Taylor found out from the news articles when she woke up before seeing any text from Scott Borchetta and he did not call her in advance."

Scooter Braun's wife, Yael, went scorched earth on Taylor Swift, calling BS on her claim that she discovered the news of Scooter's purchase like the rest of us ... and also claiming that Taylor passed on owning the rights to her old tunes. On Instagram, Yael writes, "You were given the opportunity to own your masters, you passed." Yael also confirmed what TMZ reported -- that Taylor's dad knew about the purchase ahead of time. She writes, "Your dad is a shareholder and was notified, and Borchetta [the CEO of Big Machine] personally told you before this came out. So no, you didn't find out with the world."

Source: tmz.com 5 hours ago.

So the only question is who's lying?

 

Perhaps she should go to her private island estate off Australia and kick a few coconut trees, or whatever. Ya got jobbed..... Next!

 

Justin Bieber has weighed in if anyone cares.

Justin Bieber criticizes Taylor Swift for 'hating on' Scooter Braun for buying her old music | Daily Mail Online

 

I see lawsuits coming....

 

Both Swift and Borchetta are putting out self-serving statements that reflect their side of the story, as is the case in pretty much every such dispute.

 

A very rich woman playing the gender and victim cards to whip up a Twitter storm among people who don't know literally the first thing about a recording contract.

 

indeed.

 

Tripe. Misogynist tripe at that.

 

I hope he has those masters in a secure fireproof vault......just sayin'

 

If she signed with Universal then may she's really not that bothered about her masters..........

 

Shouldn't Scooter be in prison for discovering Justin Bieber?

 

Cry me a river. Taylor Swift had the option of resigning to eventually regain her masters. She chose not to. Okay, it's a choice. Don't start whining now.

She also could have bought the label, of course. But she didn't. And that makes sense, because although all her records on that label sold a ton, I don't imagine that this is a catalog for the ages. We're not talking The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones etc. The catalog has future value, but I don't imagine in the end analysis it has huge future value, ie enough value to justify Swift buying the label to get it.

 

In general, the English language has eliminated hyphens in words as unnecessary. But this is one time when a hyphen is still necessary, because there is a huge difference between "resigning" (voluntarily leaving or otherwise stepping down) and "re-signing" (renewing a contract).

 

So she chose not to be blackmailed, wow. Also, if she HAD taken the deal, she'd be under Scooter NOW rather than her old catalogue being owned by him. There was no right path for her but she chose the superior one.

 

Yes. I don't know how anyone can look at the deal offered to her and think "You should take it" lol It sounds like a deal that would've just dug her in deeper. Not surprised she turned it down.

 

Billboard reports that the label sold for north of $300 million. A quick Google search estimates Swift’s net worth at $320 million. I would presume that, as with most people, some of her net worth is tied up in non liquid assets such as real estate. So while technically I suppose she “could have bought the label,” it would have required her to cash out every asset she owns to do so, assuming that Borchetta would have sold it to her in the first place, and that he wouldn’t have tried use her desire to own her own catalog to squeeze an even higher price out of her than he got from Scooter Braun.

Besides Swift, the label roster includes other popular country artists such as Florida Georgia Line and Lady Antebellum. You may not like their music, and I don’t either, but they sell records, and, according to Billboard, Big Machine consistently pulls in around $100 million a year in revenue. And, whether you like her or not, Swift is an artist whose catalog is going to sell, and be streamed, for decades to come, much like the Beatles and the Stones. She’s already sold 50 million albums and is the primary reason that this label, which 15 years ago was a start up independent label, just sold for a third of a billion dollars. She built that.