Scooter Braun is one of the most recognized names in the music business for his unique work as an executive and entrepreneur. He has directed many of his favorite artists, promoted artists like Justin Biber to stratospheric fame and earned the wrath of Taylor Swift And he has innumerable admirers for his business practices.
On Friday, rumors spread online that Justin Bieber would be leaving Braun, his former manager and the man credited with finding him. Speculation grew in the days that followed, and the media began to report that some of Braun’s other high-profile clients, such as Ariana Grande and Demi LovatoThey were also separating from him, which is yet to be confirmed.
Braun hasn’t released a public statement, but jokingly tweeted, “Breaking news… I can’t control myself anymore.”
As the story progresses, here’s everything we know (and everything we don’t know) about what’s going on with Scooter Braun and its mighty client list.
Who directed Scooter Brown?
With no confirmation from the cast, their teams, or Braun himself, Braun’s roster changes are speculation. The AP contacted all of the artists listed to be managed by Braun on the SB Projects website and received responses from only a select few.
The site mentions his company’s “past and present work” and includes artists with whom Braun no longer works. Hilary Duff and J Balvin.
Representatives for Carly Rae Jepsen, BabyJack and Asher Roth confirmed to the AP that those artists no longer work with Braun and have not worked for a long time.
A person close to Idina Menzel told the AP that the singer is no longer managed by Braun, but she was not authorized to speak publicly.
a representative of pop star ava max Confirmed that he is still represented by Braun.
OK, but why is Scooter Braun so important?
In the early 2000s, Braun dropped out of Emory College to host parties for elite musicians who traveled to Atlanta: Ludacris, Eminem, and even Britney Spears. He was recruited by Jermaine Dupri to become So So Def’s chief marketing officer. Later in 2007, Braun founded his own talent management company, SB Projects, where he discovered Justin Bieber in 2008 On YouTube, the profile of teen heartthrobs is growing through the use of the social network.
Some of the companies at SB Projects include: Management, which included clients such as Bieber, Ariana Grande, J Balvin and, for a brief period, Kanye West; Sheeba Publishing, a joint venture with Universal Music Group Publishing; and Schoolboy Records, a record label that first got on the map thanks to Braun’s client Asher Roth and his 2009 hit “I Love College.”
Braun operated his various companies under an entity called Ithaca Holdings.
In the midst of his incredible success, in 2019, Braun purchased Big Machine Records, the label that originally signed Taylor Swift and released her first six records. Its CEO Scott Borchetta remained in his position. With the purchase, Braun acquired ownership of Swift’s master recordings, which he sold to an investment fund the following year. As a result, Swift announced that she would re-record her albums for her new masters in a project called “Taylor’s Version”.
In April 2021, Braun sold Ithaca Holdings in a $1.05 billion deal to HYBE, a publicly traded company formerly known as Big Hit Entertainment, best known for creating the K-pop group BTS . According to the corporate report, Braun will receive approximately 462,380 shares of the company (for a total of $86.2 million), while his star clients Grande and Bieber will receive 53,557 shares, or approximately $11.0 million. One. In January 2023, he became the sole CEO of HYBE Americas, having previously shared the title following its merger with Lenzo Yoon of Big Hit.
Backup: What’s Braun doing with HYBE?
When Braun’s Ithaca Holdings merged with the globally minded HYBE in April 2021, it became one of the world’s largest music companies. A few months later, in July, Bit Hit Entertainment/HYBE CEO Bang Si-hyuk stepped down, Park Ji-Won took over, and Lenzo Yoon and Scooter Braun were appointed co-CEOs of HYBE America. In January, Braun became sole CEO, which means he’s busy.
It has been speculated that if Braun is leaving Artist SB Projects Management, it is because Braun is slowly focusing on HYBE America rather than acting as artist manager. But so far there is no confirmation that this is happening.
What does a Music Manager do?
The role of a music manager is an enigmatic one, largely based on the type of relationship between the businessman and the musician. The best music managers (and here we leave out the business and tour managers whose specialties are in the title) are fiercely organized and dedicated to the success of their artist. He has a deep understanding of the industry and the artist’s place in it.
They work to ensure that the projects of their artists run smoothly, connecting teams to achieve a specific goal. Think of them as the engine behind the scenes responsible for making the artist successful. Often, they invest in and help develop an artist, handling everything from creative production to day-to-day operations.