Fact #180968
When:
Short story:
In a Tumblr posting, Taylor Swift accuses Scooter Braun (manager of Justin Bieber and Kanye West), of bullying. Having recently bought Swift's record label Big Machine as part of a $300m (£237m) deal, Braun now owns the masters of her six albums. Taylor says this means that she's now unable to own the rights to her own music because of the record deal she signed with Big Machine at 15.
Full article:
Taylor Swift (Tumblr Posting) : For years I asked, pleaded for a chance to own my work. Instead I was given an opportunity to sign back up to Big Machine Records and 'earn' one album back at a time, one for every new one I turned in.
I had to make the excruciating choice to leave behind my past. Music I wrote on my bedroom floor and videos I dreamed up and paid for from the money I earned playing in bars, then clubs, then arenas, then stadiums.
I learned about Scooter Braun's purchase of my masters as it was announced to the world. 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.
This is my worst case scenario. This is what happens when you sign a deal at 15 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.
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. 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.
I will always be proud of my past work. But for a healthier option, 'Lover' will be out August 23.
Signed : Sad and grossed out, (broken heart emoji), Taylor.
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I had to make the excruciating choice to leave behind my past. Music I wrote on my bedroom floor and videos I dreamed up and paid for from the money I earned playing in bars, then clubs, then arenas, then stadiums.
I learned about Scooter Braun's purchase of my masters as it was announced to the world. 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.
This is my worst case scenario. This is what happens when you sign a deal at 15 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.
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. 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.
I will always be proud of my past work. But for a healthier option, 'Lover' will be out August 23.
Signed : Sad and grossed out, (broken heart emoji), Taylor.