Pop star Carly Rae Jepsen is the latest artist to leave Scooter Braun’s management.
Jepsen first rose to fame for her 2012 hit “Call Me Maybe,” going on to establish herself as a mainstay in pop music. A representative for Jepsen confirmed to the AP that she had parted ways with Braun, but declined to identify her reason for the business split.
Braun has represented some of the biggest names in pop music. He is notably credited for discovering Justin Bieber. He later went on to represent Lovato, Ariana Grande, Tori Kelly, Quavo, The Kid Laroi, Kelly Rowland, Hillary Duff, Ava Max, Dan + Shay, Idina Menzel, and more.
Bieber was famously scouted by Braun after he saw the singer’s Usher and Chris Brown covers on YouTube. Braun was hailed as a pioneer in entertainment management amid the rise of social media and digital culture at the time. Years after Braun found Bieber, his image widely shifted after what would become one of the most controversial music business decisions of all time–buying Taylor Swift’s masters.
Mastersgate
Acclaimed singer-songwriter Taylor Swift is known for her decades long ability to write songs that maintain personal connections and resonate with thousands of listeners. Her genre shifts throughout country, rock, pop, and folk music have cemented her as a mainstay in the music industry. Swift’s 10 unique studio albums have been coined “Eras” by fans, leading to Swift’s multi-billion dollar “The Eras Tour.”
In June 2019, Braun famously purchased Swift’s first six original studio album masters, which were created from when Swift was a teenager through her mid-20s. The masters were acquired through Ithaca Holdings for $330 million, after Braun bought Swift’s longtime record label, Big Machine Records. This resulted in an abrupt shift for Swift to Republic Records. The masters were acquired without Swift’s consent.
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Two months later, Swift dropped her seventh studio album, “Lover”, marking the first album she ever truly owned. After the release of “Lover”, Swift announced plans to re-record each of her first six studio albums, and add additional “vault” songs to each. The vault songs refer to tracks Swift wrote at the time of each album’s release, but ultimately did not release until the present day.
Social Media Reactions
Jepsen’s retro tinged pop music has recently garnered comparisons to Taylor Swift’s debut pop album, “1989.” Swift will soon release “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” this October, and some fans speculate that Jepsen departed Braun’s management company for a feature on the upcoming re-recorded album.
We are one step closer to Carly Rae Jepsen on 1989 (Taylor’s Version) https://t.co/Av4lCietnz
— ???? (@mazzypopstar) August 25, 2023
“1989” and Jepsen’s “Kiss” largely defined pop music in the early 2010s, and fans of both artists are holding out hope that Swift will collaborate with Jepsen for the project.
Carly Rae Jepsen & Taylor Swift rushing to record their collaboration for a vault track on 1989 (Taylor's Version) pic.twitter.com/kOGFo6AyqK
— ~#TheLoveliestTime ???????????? (@boywithagetaway) August 25, 2023
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Elsewhere, Braun’s premier client Justin Bieber has reportedly hired a new lawyer to negotiate out of his contract with Braun, which lasts through 2027. This information was confirmed to Billboard.
Justin Bieber has hired a new lawyer to help him get out of his management contract with Scooter Braun, which he is still under for 4 more years until 2027, Billboard reports. pic.twitter.com/LdZWEr4iVA
— Pop Base (@PopBase) August 24, 2023
The news of Braun and Bieber’s management breakup did not come as a shock to fans, given the growing number of clients dropping Braun in the past week.
— aerial (@aaeriaal) August 24, 2023
As usual when it comes to Scootergate, fans of Swift continue to share “Karma” inspired memes.
Oop he shoulda kept his side of the street clean pic.twitter.com/HlbMmGAKKC
— SpotifySwiftie (@SpotifySwiftie) August 24, 2023
Braun commented on the ongoing media storm surrounding the slew of clients leaving SB Projects by making a tongue-in-cheek comment about it on X.
Breaking news… I’m no longer managing myself
— Scott “Scooter” Braun (@scooterbraun) August 22, 2023
While the artists have all declined to comment on a reason for the split, Billboard reports that Braun may simply be shifting his focus away from talent management and onto other things. Braun’s management firm SB Projects fell under Ithaca Holdings, which he sold to Korean K-Pop entertainment giant HYBE for $1.06 billion in April 2021. Braun was later appointed the American CEO of HYBE. The manager is yet to confirm or deny whether he is disbanding the management firm or the artists are leaving voluntarily.
