Taylor Swift Accused Scooter Braun of “Shameless Greed” Over the Release of an Old Live Album

• Taylor Swift (opens in new tab) condemned Scooter Braun (opens in new tab) and her former record label, Big Machine Records (opens in new tab), in a post on her Instagram story Thursday.
• Swift said Big Machine was releasing a live album from a radio show she performed on in 2008, without her approval.
• "Just another case of shameless greed in the time of coronavirus," Swift wrote.

It looks like the conflict between Taylor Swift, her former label Big Machine Records, and the label's new owner, Scooter Braun, is far from over. On Thursday, Swift posted a statement on her Instagram story, writing that fans had made her aware of the impending release of a new "live album," recorded when she performed on a radio show in 2008. According to Swift fan account @blessedswifty, the album is titled Live From Clear Channel Stripped 2008 and was uploaded on Spotify with a 2017 release date.

"I'm always honest with you guys about this stuff so I just wanted to tell you that this release is not approved by me," Swift wrote. "It looks to me like Scooter Braun and his financial backers, 23 Capital, Alex Soros and the Soros family and The Carlyle Group have seen the latest balance sheets and realized that paying $330 MILLION for my music wasn't exactly a wise choice and they need money."

"In my opinion...Just another case of shameless greed in the time of Coronavirus," Swift continued. "So tasteless, but very transparent." Marie Claire has contacted Braun and Big Machine Records for comment. 

In June 2019, Scooter Braun's Ithaca Holdings bought Big Machine Label Group—and with it, all of Swift's masters prior to Lover. In a Tumblr post (opens in new tab), Swift said she'd fought "for years" to own her own masters, describing the sale to Braun as her "worst case scenario." (Big Machine's Scott Borchetta disputed Swift's post in an online statement (opens in new tab).)

The following November, Swift alleged that Big Machine had blocked her from performing her old songs at the American Music Awards, tweeting (opens in new tab) that Borchetta and Braun were "exercising tyrannical control over someone who just wants to play the music she wrote." Big Machine denied Swift's allegation, saying her tweet was based on "false information," as the Guardian reports (opens in new tab). Ultimately, Swift performed a medley of her previous hits (opens in new tab) at the award show, where she was awarded Artist of the Decade.

For more stories like this, including celebrity news, beauty and fashion advice, savvy political commentary, and fascinating features, sign up for the Marie Claire newsletter.

subscribe here