One of the music industry’s most powerful managers, Scooter Braun, has found himself at the center of controversy this week. Reports have surfaced that a few of the biggest names under his SB Projects imprint have decided to part ways with the executive- including Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato and Idina Menzel.
A Slew of Reported Detachments
Lovato’s side of things is the easiest to parse. Neither Demi’s camp nor Braun’s deny stories that have alleged the two’s seperation, and reportedly, it’s one that leaves both on good terms. Ariana, no doubt the biggest headline in this area over the past few days, is seemingly not as clear cut. While plenty of publications have come out and reported this news, sources connected to SB Projects continue to deny the rumors– stating that both Braun and the company “remain focused on working with Grande for her next project… continue to handle Ariana.” Of course, adding to the complexity is that this rush of news is coming off the heels of a turbulent few weeks for the “7 Rings” singer in the zeitgeist.
Notably absent that from that list is Justin Bieber. He found himself in the news last week when coverage began popping up that he too was departing from under Braun. However, multiple publications rebuke that idea, citing the same sources that claim Grande remains on the roster.
And finally, though this rash of supposed departures is eye-grabbing, it isn’t the end of shakeups in Braun’s roster. J Balvin, SB Project’s largest non-US client, had already ended his agreement with the company back in May.
Braun’s Tumultous Public Profile
Though Braun’s client list certainly speaks for itself, arguably more notable in the consciousness has been his public feud with Taylor Swift. With the wealth generated by a decades long career in the industry, he purchased the singer’s former label, Big Machine, in 2019. As a result, he became owner of the master recordings for her first six albums. In a lengthy Tumblr post, Swift slammed both the sale of the label and the subsequent changing of hands of her music rights. Already on bad terms given that Braun managed Kanye West, Swift called the exec an “incessant bully.” Further, she alleged that Big Machine Records themselves had acted in bad faith when negotiated a potential sale of those rights to Taylor herself.
Elsewhere, Braun has himself been making moves. He was appointed as US CEO of HYBE Recordings, whose South Korean parent company oversees K-Pop A-listers like BTS and TXT. Shortly after that promotion, HYBE US purchased Quality Control Recordings, the Atlanta imprint that released Atlanta rap standards like Migos’ Culture and Lil Baby’s My Turn. Were you to put stock into Braun’s recent career moves, it remains possible that he’s leaving the management side altogether, and that these A-list shakeups are simply some very public pieces of collateral damage.
The Future of SB Projects
When the dust settles, it remains unclear who will still be managed by the A-list agent. For Braun, the worst case is that all these reports are true, and Bieber & Grande end up under new management. Either way, SB Projects still boasts a ludicrous stable of talent- ranging from Quavo to David Guetta, from Hilary Duff to Ozuna. No matter how this plays out, it’s hard to argue that all press is good press in this particular instance. Already notorious to fans of Taylor Swift, music fans everywhere aren’t becoming familiar with his name for the best of reasons.
