Taylor Swift and Scooter Braun Worked on the Same Project Before Their Feud
Even people who don’t follow either person’s work closely are aware that Taylor Swift and Scooter Braun have their differences. Their feud has been in the headlines for almost two years, and it didn’t go away when he sold the rights that started the whole thing.
But before things went so wrong between them, Swift and Braun worked together. Although the project didn’t get a lot of attention, it seemed to go well.
A complicated feud
For a while now, Swift and Braun have been locked in a very public battle over artists’ rights vs. labels’ property. According to The Cut, it all started in 2019, when Braun bought Swift’s former label, Big Machine, for $300 million. Along with the company came ownership of Swift’s first six studio albums. And she was not happy about it.
She took to social media to say that she wasn’t told about the deal until it was done. She claimed that Braun and Scott Borchetta, CEO of Big Machine, were preventing her from performing her own music.
Swift objected to losing control over her work, but also to the people who gained that control. She’d left the label, knowing that Borchetta would sell her work, rather than choosing to work with him. She also accused Braun of “incessant, manipulative bullying.”
“When I left my masters in Scott’s hands, I made peace with the fact that eventually he would sell them. Never in my worst nightmares did I imagine the buyer would be Scooter,” she said. “He knew what he was doing; they both did. Controlling a woman who didn’t want to be associated with them.”
Taylor Swift and ‘The Giver’
But Swift had been associated with Braun in the past. According to ScreenRant, Taylor appeared in the 2014 movie The Giver. Based on a YA novel by Lois Lowry, the movie was about a future civilization where people live in peace because their emotions have been suppressed. The price of being free from pain and sorrow is that they’ve also lost the ability to feel love and joy.
The Giver is a person who holds all the community’s memories, so they are free from the feelings associated with them. Swift played Rosemary, the daughter of The Giver. In flashbacks, she’s shown being prepared to take over his role, but the feelings she experiences are too overwhelming for her to bear.
Swift’s work in the film was praised by critics. But despite her success in the small role, there’s one element of the experience that might not sit well with her today.
Scooter Braun’s part in the movie
Just before the movie was released, Ariana Grande tweeted about it. She gushed that she was excited to see it because she loved the book. She also wrote that she “couldn’t be prouder of @scooterbraun for producing.” Braun has represented Grande since 2013, so it’s understandable that she would encourage his work as a producer.
Because of his work on the film, it’s clear that Swift worked with him at the time. She hasn’t said anything about the experience, but she did retweet Grande’s post about the movie.
Their history of working together hasn’t been a big part of the discussion around Swift and Braun’s feud. But it’s worth noting. It’s possible that this experience is part of the reason Swift reacted so negatively to Braun owning the rights to her work. Regardless of what might have happened in the past, Swift continues to produce music and move forward.
