Scooter Braun, one of the highest-profile managers in the music industry, is stepping back from managing some of his superstar clients as he assumes the role of CEO of Hybe America. A source close to the situation confirmed this on Tuesday.
Puck News reported on Friday that Braun was having issues with his longest-standing client, Justin Bieber. Monday brought reports from other sources that Braun also lost singers Ariana Grande and Demi Lovato.
According to a source familiar with the matter, Braun’s firm, SB Projects, has amicably parted ways with Lovato and another client, Idina Menzel.
“All of Scooter Braun’s clients are under contract, and negotiations have been going on for several months as Scooter steps into his larger role as Hybe America CEO,” the source said. “People are spreading rumors based on what they know, but they are off.”
Conversations about representation have been ongoing for months, but there is “no bad blood” between Braun and the clients, the source said. Bieber and Grande are still under contract with SB Projects “as they work through what this new structure looks like.”
Representatives for Bieber and Grande did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.
Braun seemed to make light of the reports on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Braun founded the investment firm Ithaca Holdings, which acquired several businesses and merged with Hybe America in 2021. Hybe is a South Korean entertainment company that was previously named Big Hit Entertainment, the label behind K-Pop sensations BTS.
The corporation rebranded in 2021 during the merger with Ithaca Holdings. As part of the sale, Braun was offered the position of CEO at Hybe’s American branch.
Braun, whose birth name is Scott, went from selling fake IDs to kids in college to becoming one of the biggest names in the music industry.
In an interview with NPR last year, Braun mentioned that he started promoting while living in Atlanta, where he eventually met music mogul Jermaine Dupri. Dupri offered him a role at record label So So Def Recordings, according to Braun.
Bieber was discovered as a teenager on YouTube by Braun and Usher Raymond, who was Braun’s business partner at the time. Braun has been Bieber’s manager since 2008 and is most famous for guiding his career.
However, while Braun has developed close relationships with major figures in Hollywood, he has also experienced a highly publicized fallout with one of the biggest names in pop music.
Four years ago, Ithaca Holdings acquired Big Machine Records, granting Braun ownership of Taylor Swift’s first six albums.
In a statement, Swift referred to the deal as a nightmare and accused Braun of “manipulative bullying.” She claimed that Big Machine Records CEO Scott Borchetta denied her the opportunity to buy back her albums and instead offered her a contract where she would gradually earn them back “for every new one I turned in.”
“Any time Scott Borchetta has heard the words ‘Scooter Braun’ escape my lips, it was when I was either crying or trying not to,” Swift stated. “He knew what he was doing; they both did. Controlling a woman who didn’t want to be associated with them. In perpetuity. That means forever.”
Braun has denied Swift’s allegations. He mentioned in an NPR interview that he wanted to discuss the sale but was under a nondisclosure agreement at the time.
He also stated that he learned an important lesson from that situation and wanted everyone to be involved in the Hybe deal as a result.
Swift has subsequently released re-recordings of three of her past albums, with a fourth set to be released in October. She added “(Taylor’s Version)” to the album titles to indicate ownership. Variety reported that her back catalog was sold to Shamrock Capital in 2020 for $300 million.