Music executive Scooter Braun says he’s happy for Taylor Swift and has “moved on” from their long-running feud.
Appearing on The Diary of a CEO podcast this week, Braun reflected on the highly publicized dispute that began in 2019 when his company, Ithaca Holdings, purchased Swift’s former label Big Machine — and with it, the rights to her first six albums. Swift condemned the move at the time as her “worst case scenario,” accusing Braun of “incessant, manipulative bullying” and denying her the chance to buy her own work.
Now, Braun says the experience gave him rare perspective. “Everything in life is a gift,” he told Billboard. “Having that experience allows me to have empathy for people I worked with. I never knew what it was like to be on the global stage like that. I never knew what criticism like that felt like.”
Last month Swift announced a successful end to her years-long battle to own the master recordings of her entire catalog of music. “I am happy for her,” Braun said. “I wish everyone involved, across the board, whether I know them or not, good wishes.”
The mogul reiterated that he attempted to sell the masters to Swift multiple times before the Shamrock deal but claimed her team declined. Swift, however, maintains Braun required her to sign an NDA before she could even discuss a purchase and never quoted her a price — allegations she made public during the height of the dispute.
Despite the conflict’s toll on his reputation and personal life, Braun says he’s grown from it. “When something happens to you that feels deeply unfair, and you can’t fix it, then you’ve really got to look at everything and realize the role you played in this or that, who you want to be.”
The saga pushed Swift to re-record her Big Machine-era albums in her now-celebrated Taylor’s Version series, a move that helped redefine artist ownership in the streaming age.
Both Braun and Swift appear ready to look toward the future, even if Taylor’s version of the past remains world’s apart from Braun’s.
Originally published on Enstarz