On July 24, 2020, Taylor Swift dropped her surprise eighth studio album Folklore, which has already amassed several impressive accolades, including the biggest global sales debut- with 1.2 million copies sold in 7 days - of the year so far.
The album has already rolled out a few singles, with Cardigan currently on course to reach sales of over one million copies in the US, showing clear signs that Swift’s career is anything but slowing down anytime soon.
But, of course, fans have to wonder whether Scooter Braun has any ties to the project, following the news he had acquired her master recordings after purchasing Big Machine Label Group LLC for $300 million last summer.
The Style hitmaker has made it no secret that she was furious over Braun’s involvement in the deal given that she was denied the request of purchasing her own masters - she’s dissed him over the situation on social media and says she wants to share no ties with the famous manager.
Does Scooter Braun Have Any Involvement?
In July 2019, it was announced that Braun had bought Swift’s former record label Big Machine Records for an eyewatering $300 million records, which evidently meant he would also be acquiring the pop star’s catalog dating back to her self-titled debut album in 2006.
Reputation, Swift’s sixth studio album, was the last project she had to submit before fulfilling her contractual agreement with the firm, which means that any songs recorded before her 2017 record all under Braun’s possession, giving him the rights to license her hit songs in movies, TV shows, and other commercial use.
In one excerpt taken from her lengthy Tumblr statement after announcement was made, the former country singer, who's had bad run-ins with Braun in the past, told her fans: “All I could think about was the incessant, manipulative bullying I’ve received at his hands for years.
“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. Or when his client, Kanye West, organized a revenge porn music video which strips my body naked.”
Clearly upset by the news, she vowed to re-record all of her songs and have them distributed under her new label with Universal Music Group - Braun would still own the masters of the original version though.
Braun actually has no attachment to any of Swift’s recent projects, including her seventh studio album Lover, meaning he didn’t and won’t be generating any income from sales concerning music the singer has put out since she dropped her last album.
In November 2019, the Grammy winner accused Braun of preventing her from performing her songs pre-Lover at award shows and tours, leading Swift’s fanbase to intervene by reportedly sending death threats to the 39-year-old’s family.
In response to the situation, Braun wrote in a statement: "I am certain there is no situation ever worth jeopardizing anyone's safety,
"I assume this was not your intention but it is important that you understand that your words carry a tremendous amount of weight and that your message can be interpreted by some in different ways.”
He concluded by saying: "At this point with safety becoming a concern I have no choice other than to publicly ask for us to come together and try to find a resolution. I have tried repeatedly through your representatives to achieve a solution but unfortunately here we are. This game of telephone isn’t working."
Folklore Becomes An Instant Commercial Hit
The surprise release of Folklore has proven to not just Braun but also Swift’s fans that her popularity hasn’t declined one bit.
Though she’s been plagued by drama concerning her former record label and how she blamed them of not allowing her to make an offer on her master recordings, the Love Story hitmaker has continued to dominate the charts - and with Folklore, it was no different.
The good thing about the record’s success is that Braun has absolutely no involvement, meaning Swift doesn’t just own the master recordings but she’s also earning plenty of money from its stellar commercial performance.
Spotify announced that Swift’s latest project had achieved the most day-one streams of an album on its streaming service by any female artist, amassing an incredible 80.6 million streams in just 24 hours.
In the US alone, Folklore sold 846,000 copies, making her the first artist in chart history to have seven albums shifting more than 500,000 copies in its debut week while also attaining the title of being the first female singer to have seven records shoot straight to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.