EXCLUSIVE: Scooter Braun insisted he was NOT a money-hungry moral bankrupt in interview conducted when he was doing deal which made Taylor Swift call him a 'manipulative bully'

  • Taylor Swift ripped into music manager Scooter Braun, 38, in a candid Tumblr post on Sunday where she called him a 'manipulative bully'
  • In an interview with DailyMail.com conducted before the drama unfolded, Braun and wife Yael Cohen insisted 'giving back' was 'at the core of who we are' 
  • 'You only get to keep your blessings if you give them,' Braun said in May, adding 'We would be a bunch of a**holes if we did not give back'
  • Braun made these comments in May while negotiations were underway to take over Swift's old record label and own all of her old music and legacy 
  • This week it was announced that his company Ithaca Holdings LLC bought Big Machine Label Group, which produced Swift's last six albums, for $300million  
  • Scott Borchetta, the founder of Big Machine Label Group, says Taylor Swift has been misleading about the sale of her early music 
  • Braun insisted that the artists under his guidance are like 'family' 
  • His clients include Ariana Grande, Justin Beiber, Kanye West and Demi Lovato  

Underfire Scooter Braun - branded a 'manipulative bully' by popstar Taylor Swift after acquiring her back catalog of music - insisted he was not a morally-bankrupt, money-obsessed businessman while negotiations were underway to buy her old record label.

DailyMail.com spoke with Braun in an exclusive interview in May as he was putting the finishing touches on his deal to purchase Swifts' old record label Big Machine Label Group for $300million.

The deal was announced Sunday, prompting Swift to publish a scathing Tumblr post hours later where she opened up about her fraught relationship with Braun.

But just a month before the war with the popstar broke out, Braun said he was not in the music industry just for the cash or any other self-serving motives - as Swift seems to suggest.

Speaking alongside his wife Yael Cohen, he said: 'You only get to keep your blessings if you give them, and the two of us are incredibly fortunate.

'I will just say it we would be a bunch of a**holes if we did not give back.'

Scooter Braun and wife Yael Cohen spoke to DailyMail.com in May, while negotiations were underway to acquire all of Taylor Swift's music,  insisting that 'giving back' was 'at the core of who we are' and that the artists he manages are 'like family'

Scooter Braun and wife Yael Cohen spoke to DailyMail.com in May, while negotiations were underway to acquire all of Taylor Swift's music,  insisting that 'giving back' was 'at the core of who we are' and that the artists he manages are 'like family'

Their statement comes in stark contrast to what Taylor Swift labeled Scooter as, calling him a 'manipulative bully' in a candid Tumblr post on Sunday

Their statement comes in stark contrast to what Taylor Swift labeled Scooter as, calling him a 'manipulative bully' in a candid Tumblr post on Sunday 

Braun insisted that the artists under his guidance - including Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato and Kanye West - are like 'family'.

He also joked that dealing with artists' problems, tantrums and creative differences helped prepare him for his own two kids becoming adults. 

Swift, 29, had some strong words on the purchase, saying after she heard of Braun's deal, 'all I could think about was the incessant, manipulative bullying I've received at his hands for years,' adding that she never would have sold her masters to the manager. 

Braun tried to call Swift Monday morning for a 'mature' conversation after her scathing social media post following the news that he bought her catalog of past albums but she ignored him, sources told The Blast. .   

It came after Braun re-posted and then deleted an Instagram post from one of his friends that congratulated him for now owning Swift.  

Swift's fans posted screenshots of the since-deleted post that read: 'WHEN YOUR FRIEND BUYS TAYLOR SWIFT.' 

Her original post prompted Braun's wife Yael to defend her husband publicly.

He and his wife discussed the importance of being charity-minded and caring in show business.

Yael said that the 'giving back' was 'at the core of who we were' - and that they were teaching their children that being 'lucky' in life means giving 'time and love' to good causes.

Speaking at The Museum of Contemporary Art's annual gala in Los Angeles in May, she told DailyMail.com: 'I think that we were both raised with that at the core of who we were. So at this point we want our kids to see that they are incredibly lucky and they have a lot of gifts they can give to the world and one of those is time and love.'

Braun said he was proud he is to have guided YouTube star Justin Bieber to become one of the biggest pop singers of his generation.

Braun re-posted and then deleted this Instagram post from one of his friends that congratulated him for now owning Swift. Swift's fans posted screenshots of the since-deleted post that read: 'WHEN YOUR FRIEND BUYS TAYLOR SWIFT.'

Braun re-posted and then deleted this Instagram post from one of his friends that congratulated him for now owning Swift. Swift's fans posted screenshots of the since-deleted post that read: 'WHEN YOUR FRIEND BUYS TAYLOR SWIFT.'

Swift posted this message to Tumblr Sunday night where she accused Scooter of subjecting her to years of incessant and manipulative bullying

Swift posted this message to Tumblr Sunday night where she accused Scooter of subjecting her to years of incessant and manipulative bullying

Swift said that Scooter has bullied her for years and has tried to dismantle her career. She shared this screenshot of Justin Bieber's August 2016 Instagram post as proof where he's Facetiming Scooter Braun and Kanye West and captioned the image 'Taylor Swift what up'

Swift said that Scooter has bullied her for years and has tried to dismantle her career. She shared this screenshot of Justin Bieber's August 2016 Instagram post as proof where he's Facetiming Scooter Braun and Kanye West and captioned the image 'Taylor Swift what up'

'...his client, Kanye West, organized a revenge porn music video which strips my body naked,' Swift said in her Tumblr post citing Kanye's Famous music video (pictured)

'...his client, Kanye West, organized a revenge porn music video which strips my body naked,' Swift said in her Tumblr post citing Kanye's Famous music video (pictured)

'This last decade has been pretty wild. I was a kid with a big dream and now I am at the MOCA gala with a woman that I never thought would be in my life. 'And I am just really grateful. I was talking to my dad, and my dad is a refugee in this country and to be in this position I am pretty grateful.'

Braun added that looking after talent is like being a surrogate parent to many.

'I think we are really grateful that the relationship that we have with our artists it really is like a family.

'And they have given me a lot of training for when my kids are older.'

He insisted that all artists he works with are treated with 'love and respect', adding that helping artist Lovato recover from her drug overdose to return to pop limelight was an 'honor.'

'I am incredibly honored to be on this journey with her. She is really special,' he said, adding that he vowed to treat her with 'the same amount of love and respect that I do with all the people in our organization.'

Their exclusive video interview took place as Braun supported wife Yael, who is on the board of trustees for the MOCA.

In her social media post, Fearless singer Swift cited her beef with Kim Kardashian in July 2016 and her unwanted cameo in Kanye West's music video for Famous as examples of the bullying she's suffered at the hands of Braun.

'Like when Kim Kardashian orchestrated an illegally recorded snippet of a phone call to be leaked and then Scooter got his two clients together to bully me online about it,' she said, adding a photo as proof.

The photo is screenshot of Justin Bieber's Instagram post from August 2016 where he's Facetiming Scooter and Kanye with the caption 'Taylor swift what up'.

On her Tumblr Swift drew a circle around Braun's face in red writing: 'This is Scooter Braun, bullying me on social media when I was at my lowest point. He's about to own all the music I've ever made.'

Braun's wife, Yael Cohen, chimed in on Instagram Monday in this post, refuting Swift's claim that her husband is a bully and that Swift found out the news with the rest of the world

Justin Bieber leapt to the defense of his manager Braun in response to Swift's Tumblr post denouncing his purchase of all her old music masters

Justin Bieber leapt to the defense of his manager Braun in response to Swift's Tumblr post denouncing his purchase of all her old music masters

Demi Lovato - who Braun manages - was among those to publicly support him in the wake of Swift's Tumblr post

Demi Lovato - who Braun manages - was among those to publicly support him in the wake of Swift's Tumblr post 

Swift continued her post saying: 'Or when his client, Kanye West, organized a revenge porn music video which strips my body naked.'

'Now Scooter has stripped me of my life's work, that I wasn't given an opportunity to buy. Essentially, my musical legacy is about to lie in the hands of someone who tried to dismantle it,' she added.

Swift said Braun taking over her old music is her worst nightmare.

She explained she always wanted to own her own music, but entered the music world at the age of 15 and couldn't fight for herself.

She signed with Big Machine Records and knew that when Borchetta sold the label, he'd be selling her legacy. But she never expected it to be sold to Braun's company Ithaca Holdings LLC.

Borchetta issued his own lengthy statement accusing the singer of being misleading about the situation, claiming she knew well ahead of time about the deal with Braun. 

'So, it's time for some truth… In regard to a post earlier today from Taylor, it's time to set some things straight,' he wrote in an open letter on the Big Machine Label Group's website. 

'Taylor's dad, Scott Swift, was a shareholder in Big Machine Records, LLC. We first alerted all of the shareholders on Thursday, June 20th for an official shareholder's call scheduled for Tuesday, June 25th. 

'On the 6/25 call the shareholders were made aware of the pending deal with Ithaca Holdings and had 3 days to go over all of the details of the proposed transaction. We then had a final call on Friday, June 28th in which the transaction passed with a majority vote and 3 of the 5 shareholders voting 'yes' with 92% of the shareholder's vote.'

This week it was announced Braun - who manages artists including Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, and Kanye West - acquired Scott Borchetta's label Big Machine Label Group in a deal believed to top $300million and would see him own all of Swift's music. Braun left and Borchetta right on June 28, 2019

This week it was announced Braun - who manages artists including Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, and Kanye West - acquired Scott Borchetta's label Big Machine Label Group in a deal believed to top $300million and would see him own all of Swift's music. Braun left and Borchetta right on June 28, 2019

Borchetta outlined the terms of what he called an 'extraordinary' offer to Swift which would have kept her at Big Machine Records and given her ownership of her material, posting documents of the offer he made

 Borchetta outlined the terms of what he called an 'extraordinary' offer to Swift which would have kept her at Big Machine Records and given her ownership of her material, posting documents of the offer he made 

Swift denied that her father Scott (above) was involved in the deal that saw her music catalog sold off to Scooter Braun as the pop star insists she found out about the $300 million sale with the rest of the world

Swift denied that her father Scott (above) was involved in the deal that saw her music catalog sold off to Scooter Braun as the pop star insists she found out about the $300 million sale with the rest of the world

Borchetta said he texted Swift at 9.06pm on Saturday as a courtesy to inform her of the deal prior to news breaking.

'I guess it might somehow be possible that her dad Scott, 13 Management lawyer Jay Schaudies (who represented Scott Swift on the shareholder calls) or 13 Management executive and Big Machine LLC shareholder Frank Bell (who was on the shareholder calls) didn't say anything to Taylor over the prior 5 days,' he wrote. 

'I guess it's possible that she might not have seen my text. But, I truly doubt that she 'woke up to the news when everyone else did'.   

Big Machine Records owned her master recordings from her biggest selling album of the 2000s, Fearless, to her most recent, Reputation. 

All but her first album titled Taylor Swift (2006) were number one albums and all of them were multi-platinum award winning, with colossal profits going to Borchetta's label.

'This is my worst case scenario. This is what happens when you sign a deal at fifteen to someone for whom the term ''loyalty'' is clearly just a contractual concept. And when that man says ''Music has value'', he means its value is beholden to men who had no part in creating it,' she added.

With the deal Braun will gain the six albums Swift has released to date - as well as the music of Reba McEntire, Sheryl Crow, Florida Georgia Line, Thomas Rhett, Rascal Flatts and Lady Antebellum, according to Bloomberg.

Swift says the purchase is a betrayal from her old label. 

Girl power: Halsey is one of the many women in music taking a stand for Taylor Swift, who recently called out Scooter Braun after a years-long feud culminated with him acquiring her old music
She wrote: 'She deserves to own the painstaking labor of her heart. She has surpassed all expectations of what any artist is even capable of. She catapulted her stardom into the Milky Way'

Girl power: Halsey is one of the many women in music taking a stand for Taylor Swift

Cara Delevingne
Martha Hunt

Cara Delevingne and Martha Hunt were among those to come out in defense of Swift following the news 

'Never in my worst nightmares did I imagine the buyer would be Scooter,' she said.

'Any time Scott Borchetta has heard the words ''Scooter Braun'' escape my lips, it was when I was either crying or trying not to. 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,' she wrote.

But Borchetta responded on his website, writing that he had texted Swift the day before the story broke and is also states that her father Scott - who was a shareholder at Big Machine Records - would have been aware of the sale.

In 2018 Swift signed with Republic Records, a label under the Universal Music Group.

'Thankfully, I am now signed to a label that believes I should own anything I create. Thankfully, I left my past in Scott's hands and not my future,' Swift said.

'And hopefully, young artists or kids with musical dreams will read this and learn about how to better protect themselves in a negotiation. You deserve to own the art you make,' she added.

She ended her post saying 'sad and grossed out'.

Taylor has received support from other women in the entertainment industry, including Halsey, Martha Hunt and Cara Delevinge. 

Halsey wrote: 'I am standing with her.' 

Swift's next album Lover will be out on August 23.

What does it mean to own Taylor Swift's master recordings?

Owning an artists master recordings has become more profitable with the rise of streaming services because it means less is spent on marketing, with users able to stream a back catalog at the touch of a button.

Swift's streaming numbers represented a 21.2% share of Big Machine Records' total in 2016 - a year without an album release - and a 56.6% share in 2015 - after the fall 2014 release of her '1989' record.

And in 2017, she accounted for 41.2% of their streaming share and 34.1% so far this year, Billboard reported.

It's standard practice in the music industry for an artist to sign away the master rights to their recordings.

In exchange, the contract will award the musician an advance and sales royalties.

Artists including Metallica, AC/DC, Pink Floyd and Chicago have bought back rights to their music, but this is rare as it undermines how the industry makes its money. 

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