Taylor Swift's claim that she was blindsided by Scooter Braun’s $300million acquisition of her back catalogue is being questioned in a controversial new documentary.
Taylor Swift vs Scooter Braun: Bad Blood has brought the past feud between the pop star and music mogul Scooter Braun back to the surface.
The doc, which premiered on Max on Friday, casts doubt on Swift's version of events surrounding Braun’s acquisition.
She stated that she tried to buy her music rights from the Big Machine Label Group (BMLG) only to learn the label sold the master tapes to Braun when it was publicly announced.
However, Bad Blood suggests otherwise, revealing that BMLG boss Scott Borchetta offered her the chance to buy her master tapes in 2019, and Braun made a similar offer when he sold them to Shamrock Holdings in October 2020.
The documentary also questions the existence of a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) that Swift claimed she was forced to sign. Additionally, it notes that her father, Scott Swift, received a $15.1million pay-out from the deal due to his minority stake in BMLG.
Swift maintains that she was unaware of both sales and was never given the opportunity to buy the rights to her first six albums, prompting her decision to rerecord them to devalue Shamrock Holdings’ investment.
However, Bad Blood and legal documents from Borchetta suggest otherwise. The documents state: “Taylor had every chance in the world to own not just her master recordings, but every video, photograph, everything associated to her career. She chose to leave.”
An industry insider criticised Swift's narrative, stating: "With all this coming back up again, the feeling is, enough is enough. It’s time for the truth to come out rather than this version in which Taylor was somehow blindsided and wronged.
“Her team absolutely knew what was on the table. As for the story that Scooter never offered Taylor a chance to buy her catalogue when he came to sell it the following year, that is just 100 percent not true."
Another source added: "I think once Taylor crossed the line that day and tweeted that she learned everything at the same time as the rest of the world, she was just going to hold onto that victim narrative because it worked for her. Her fans took it and ran with it."
Swift's team has hit back in an official statement, stating she “has completely moved on from this saga.... None of these men will ever be able to take anything away from Taylor’s legacy as a songwriter, singer, director, philanthropist and advocate for artists’ rights".
Swift is currently enjoying immense success from her Eras tour, which even saw the Prince of Wales attending her opening night at London’s Wembley Stadium.
