Yesterday Taylor Swift took to Tumblr to accuse her former record label, Big Machine, 0f barring her from performing any of her old music live on television. Swift alleges that she was planning to perform a medley of her hits upon accepting the award for Artist of the Decade at the AMA’s next weekend, but was told she was only allowed to perform her old music if she agreed not to record copycat versions of them. Taylor also reviled that she was recording a Netflix documentary about her life which she’s planning to reveal next year, but Braun and Borchetta were blocking her from using any of her old music for the movie.
But it didn’t take long for Big Machine execs, Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta, to respond to the allegations against them and their company. This morning they fired back with a statement claiming they are shocked at Taylor’s accusations, stating they have “continued to honor all of her requests to license her catalog to third parties as she promotes her current record in which we do not financially participate.” They also go on to explain that they never asked Taylor not to perform her old music and claimed they don’t even have the legal rights to impose such actions. Here is the entire Big Machine response to Taylor Swift:
“As Taylor Swift’s partner for over a decade, we were shocked to see her Tumblr statements yesterday based on false information. At no point did we say Taylor could not perform on the AMAs or block her Netflix special. In fact, we do not have the right to keep her from performing live anywhere. Since Taylor’s decision to leave Big Machine last fall, we have continued to honor all of her requests to license her catalog to third parties as she promotes her current record in which we do not financially participate. The truth is, Taylor has admitted to contractually owing millions of dollars and multiple assets to our company, which is responsible for 120 hardworking employees who helped build her career. We have worked diligently to have a conversation about these matters with Taylor and her team to productively move forward. We started to see progress over the past two weeks and were optimistic as recently as yesterday that this may get resolved. However, despite our persistent efforts to find a private and mutually satisfactory solution, Taylor made a unilateral decision last night to enlist her fanbase in a calculated manner that greatly affects the safety of our employees and their families. Taylor, the narrative you have created does not exist. All we ask is to have a direct and honest conversation. When that happens, you will see there is nothing but respect, kindness and support waiting for you on the other side. To date, not one of the invitations to speak with us and work through this has been accepted. Rumors fester in the absence of communication. Let’s not have that continue here. We share the collective goal of giving your fans the entertainment they both want and deserve.”
Earlier in the year news broke that Scott Borchetta had sold Big Machine Label Group to Scooter Braun for $300 million, and with it came all of the masters to Taylor Swift’s entire music catalogue prior to 2017. She was very vocal about how she felt following her former label being purchased by someone who she describes as a bully. Scooter Braun has guided the careers of superstar musicians Justin Bieber, Demi Lovato, and Ariana Grande, all of whom have remained silent on the matter except for Justin. He posted picture to his Instagram story of a screenshot of Taylor’s accusations with the caption, “Taylor Swift free to play all her hits during the AMA’s… Big Machine cant stop you.”
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