Ariana Grande is the latest artist to ditch longtime manager Scooter Braun. The popstar had worked with Braun since 2013 and her debut album Yours Truly. As per Pitchfork, no details about the split have been made public.
Grande is the third artist to have severed ties with Braun this year. Colombian artist J Balvin jumped ship from Braun’s SB Projects to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation in May, while Demi Lovato left the management company sometime in July.
Ariana Grande: ‘thank u, next’
Rumours are flying that Braun’s most famous client, Justin Bieber, might also be on the way out – but reps for Bieber have denied that claim.
Braun’s list of clients is still lengthy: Carly Rae Jepsen, David Guetta, Dan + Shay, and Ava Max are all under his wing, as is The Kid Laroi, who re-signed with SB Projects in May 2022 after initially parting ways in late 2021.
Braun is a somewhat infamous figure in the music industry owing to his run-in with Taylor Swift over the purchase of her masters. In June 2019, Swift’s former label Big Machine Records was purchased for around US$330 million by Braun through his company Ithaca Holdings. Braun would consequently have control over all the masters owned by the label, including Swift’s first six albums.
Swift immediately retaliated, and called out Braun for “incessant, manipulative bullying”. The singer then vowed to re-record her old albums – she’s since released three, with a fourth on the way. In November 2020, Braun ended up selling Swift’s original masters to private equity firm Shamrock Holdings.
Further Reading
Taylor Swift Accuses Scooter Braun And Scott Borchetta Of Not Letting Her Perform Her Old Songs
