Scooter Braun's Reputation Among Musicians Continues To Dwindle

Scooter Braun's reputation took a knock in 2019 when he bought Big Machine Records. Part of his acquisition included Taylor Swift's back catalog, which was worth $300 million, per Rolling Stone. Swift was quick to retaliate and wrote on her Tumblr blog that she had "pleaded for a chance to own my work" and that she had only "learned about Scooter Braun's purchase of my masters as it was announced to the world." Bloomberg reports that it was a typical transaction, even though in an ideal situation musicians would be able to own their work. Bill Werde, director of Syracuse University's music business program, stated at the time of Braun and Swift's brawl, "Labels invest time and money in artists. And labels want things. Masters are typically one of those things."

Artists like Sky Ferreira came out in support of Swift. Camila Cabello also tweeted about her belief that artists should have ownership of their work, and other musicians also supported Swift. Of course, some of Braun's longtime artists such as Demi Lovato and Justin Bieber had his back. Bieber wrote, "Scooter has had your back since the days you graciously let me open up for you," while Lovato wrote in an Instagram Story (via People), "He's a good man."

Nevertheless, Taylor got her own back when she re-recorded some of her biggest hits on her "Fearless" album and included a few new songs to boot. Now, it seems as if another artist also has beef with Braun.

Grammy-nominated artist The Kid LAROI is going places, but not with Scooter Braun. The musician took to TikTok on April 13 to lament the errors of his past. The song, "Thousand Miles," has the singer crooning, "Here goes another mistake / ... I know I'm gonna make tonight." In case you're wondering about this "mistake," The Kid LAROI then alluded to it being Braun, by posting a montage of images of his ex-manager in the clip. 

Variety reports that the artist joined SB Projects in June 2021, but he quit the company in September. Billboard initially covered the split, saying that the musician left because "Braun made 'a promise' that he would be directly involved with Laroi ... there was not enough participation from him." The Kid LAROI was allegedly also upset because some team members were "making decisions without consulting him." When The Kid LAROI quit SB Projects, Braun had high praise for him. He said, "Laroi is a brilliant artist, and I wish him and his family nothing but the best. I'm proud of the historic success we had together in our short time — I am rooting for him always, and he knows that." 

This was not the first time The Kid LAROI was allegedly disgruntled with his management team. It seems as if he and Grade A Productions parted on good terms, per Hot New Hip Hop. The Kid LAROI refused to answer questions about Grade A, saying, "We won't talk about them."