Looks like Taylor Swift and Scooter Braun’s beef is far from over, and, apparently, Taylor isn’t too happy about some of her old live performances being released as an “album.”
She went on Instagram Stories on Thursday (April 23) to call out Scooter and Big Machine Records once again.
“Hey guys – I want to thank my fans for making me aware that my former record label is putting out an ‘album’ of live performances of mine tonight. This recording is from a 2008 radio show performance I did when I was 18,” she wrote. “Big Machine has listed the date as a 2017 release but they’re actually releasing it at midnight.”
“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. It looks to me like Scooter Braun and his financial bankers, 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,” she continued. “In my opinion… just another case of shameless greed in the time of coronavirus. So tasteless, but very transparent.”
The “album” in question, Live From Clear Channel Stripped 2008, is an eight-track live set which features “Fearless,” “Love Story,” “Untouchable” and more songs from her days as a country singer. It’s now available for streaming on Apple Music.
As a refresher, Taylor and Scooter have been feuding for a while now.
Scooter acquired Tay’s master recordings when he purchased her former label, Big Machine Records last summer. Taylor opened up about about the whole ish in a lengthy tumblr post, and also accused Scooter of having his two clients bully her. She also said that she only found out about the deal when it was online – something Big Machine Label officials have disputed.
The whole issue blew up when celebrities began publicly taking sides in the whole Taylor Swift-Scooter Braun drama, with Justin, Demi and other celebs speaking out in support of Scooter while other stars like Cara Delevingne, Halsey, Todrick Hall and more backed Taylor. Kelly Clarkson even encouraged Taylor to re-record her songs so she could own the masters.
The “ME!” singer has since announced that she’s re-recording her masters next year.
Then, a few months before the release of Taylor’s Netflix documentary, Miss Americana, which dropped in January, she claimed that Scooter and Big Machine Records CEO Scott Borchetta wouldn’t let her perform her old songs at the 2019 American Music Awards, where she was being honored with Artist of the Decade Award. She also said that they declined the use of her older music and performance footage for the documentary.
Scooter has denied Taylor’s accusations. A source told Entertainment Tonight in December that Big Machine Records has cleared the music she will be using in the documentary.
