On Monday, June 17, Scooter Braun officially cut ties with the management aspect of his job as a record executive. The controversial manager, who has had a long-running professional feud with Taylor Swift and several other A-list pop artists, unofficially left his management position two years ago. However, now he has finally released a lengthy online statement reflecting on his 23-year-long journey in this area of showbiz.
On his Instagram feed, he shared a post which included a text message in which he announced his retirement and the beginning of his next professional life.
“23 years. That’s how many years I’ve been a music manager,” Brown said. “After 23 years, this chapter as a music manager is over,” he announced.
He elaborated on his schedule as a music industry veteran, “When I started, I was literally just 19 years old. So for my entire adult life I was on call as an artist manager 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And for 20 years, I loved it. It was all I knew.” He wrote about his eventual decision to leave the profession to focus on his family.
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What will Scooter Braun do next?
An excerpt from his statement reads, “In this next chapter I am honored to join Hybe as a board member and serve as CEO of Hybe America. My wonderful partner for the past 3 years, Chairman Bang, has a vision that I truly believe in. But beyond that he has become a true friend who understands where I need to be in my life these days. And he is a father first, a CEO second, and no longer a manager.”
He added that “the addition of QC to Hybe America and [their] “Existing businesses at Big Machine,” his relationship with the South Korean giant will “continue to add amazing executives and artists to the roster.” In his statement, Braun also name-checked Jungkook’s solo project from last year, other BTS members, and new acts like Newsines, Tomorrow x Together, Le Seraphim, Seventeen, Elite, The Scarlet Opera, and Ava Max.
Braun’s portfolio clearly links his beginnings as a music manager with artists such as Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande. He has successfully established himself as one of the leading artists in the music industry.
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On one hand, he’s remembered for leading a major charity concert alongside Grande, Coldplay, Bieber, McMilly, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus and more in the wake of the terrorist bombing outside the “7 Rings” artist’s concert in 2017, which tragically claimed the lives of 22 people.
On the other hand, he made controversial headlines after acquiring the rights to Taylor Swift’s six early albums after purchasing Big Machine Records Group in 2018. Soon after, rumors of some major artists parting ways with him began to surface. Despite everything being leaked on the internet, Braun addressed many of these artists lovingly in his social media statement today.
Revisiting the history of Scooter Braun and HYBE
In 2021, Braun’s own company, Ithaca Holdings, merged with HYBE, the South Korean entertainment company that is home to K-pop supergroup BTS. Other assets of Braun’s company, including SB Projects, Big Machine Label Group, and his clients at the time — including Bieber, Grande, Demi Lovato, and others — were also acquired by HYBE through HYBE America. The resulting deal, valued at over $1 billion, prompted Braun to come on board.
SB Projects founder said after the $1B deal, “This will be the first time HYBE’s groundbreaking system and curation will be integrated into the US market at the beginning of an artist’s career. Also, it will help us advance the careers of the artists we already work with.”
However, just like the storm he stirred up on the western front of the music world, Braun faced severe rejection from many K-pop fans, especially the BTS Army. The fans’ merciless anger led to fierce boycott campaigns, including the social media movement “#HYBEDivestFromZionism.” According to the still active flames of fire, fans urged HYBE to sack Braun upon discovering his “Zionist” affiliations. Palestinian supporters also launched a “Help remove Scooter Braun from HYBE” petition on Change.org against him in the wake of Israel’s war on Palestine’s Gaza Strip.Read more information here: #HYBEDivestFromZionism explained: Why BTS fans want to sack K-pop label’s US CEO Scooter Braun)
