Taylor Swift has said Scooter Braun has now sold the master recordings of much of her back catalogue to a private equity firm.
The US singer has claimed the talent manager would not enter negotiations with her unless she signed an “ironclad” non-disclosure agreement.
The pair have been embroiled in a bitter (and complicated) public feud after it was revealed Scooter had bought her old label, Big Machine, last year and therefore owned the masters to her first six albums.
In the latest twist in their row, Taylor shared a lengthy note on Twitter on Monday night, saying Scooter had sold her old music to a third party and claimed that before negotiations could start, his team wanted her to sign an “ironclad NDA stating I would never say another word” about him “unless it was positive”.
She wrote: “So I would have to sign a document that would silence me forever before I could even have a chance to bid on my own work. My legal team said that this is absolutely NOT normal, and they’ve never seen an NDA like this presented unless it was to silence an assault accuser by paying them off.”
Taylor said a private equity firm called Shamrock Holdings had bought “100% of my music, videos and album art” from Scooter, and that his team would “not even quote my team a price” for her to buy them back, claiming that “these master recordings were not for sale to me”.
She said the company told her Scooter – whose clients include Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande – had insisted they make no contact with her before the sale was final or the deal would be off.
Taylor also said the terms of the deal mean Scooter will “continue to profit of my old musical catalogue for many years” and his involvement means she will not forge a partnership with Shamrock Holdings.
The sale means she will have no say in how the recordings are used in advertising, TV, films and on streaming platforms, with the owners earning revenue through these avenues.
Taylor has confirmed she is now in the process of re-recording her old music, so she would own the masters to the new versions, saying “it has already proven to be both exciting and creatively fulfilling”.
This means she could try and ensure the new versions are streamed by fans and used in any other projects, taking away revenue from the owner of the old versions.
Taylor also shared what she said was a letter in response to the private equity firm, which now owns her first six albums.
In it, she said she had been looking forward to working with Shamrock Holdings until she realised Scooter would continue to profit from her work.
Taylor wrote: “I simply cannot in good conscience bring myself to be involved in benefitting Scooter Braun’s interests directly or indirectly.”
She added that it is a “sacrifice I will have to make to keep Scooter Braun out of my life”.
HuffPost UK has contacted a representative for Scooter Braun for comment.
READ MORE:
Scooter bought most of Taylor’s back catalogue when his company, Ithaca Holdings, purchased Big Machine Label Group, her first record label in 2019.
Her contract with Big Machine ran out in 2018 and she signed a deal with Universal Music Group, which gave her the rights to her subsequent recordings.
She has since released two albums – 2019’s Lover and Folklore, which was released in July.
Speaking at the time Scooter bought Big Machine, Taylor said she was “sad” and “grossed out” and accused him of being behind “incessant, manipulative bullying”.
Last year, Scooter called for an end to the feud, claiming he’d received threats against his wife and children.
