Taylor Swift isn't backing down from her claims that she was never offered an opportunity to buy her masters.
Earlier this week, Swift went as close to scorched earth as a pop star of her size can, burning Scooter Braun and Big Machine Records in a post to Tumblr. She claimed that she was caught unaware by the sale of Big Machine to the mega-manager and said that she felt "grossed out" by the fact that all of her previous albums belonged to a man she believed bullied her.
In response, Big Machine's former owner Scott Borchetta posted a rebuttal where he claimed that Swift was lying about Braun's behavior, being uninformed of the sale, and the potential deal to buy her own masters.
Borchetta said that he offered Swift a deal that included "100% of all Taylor Swift assets … to be transferred to her immediately upon signing the new agreement." He said that the deal wasn't tied to albums and would deal instead in time. However, Swift said that the deal amounted to trading new albums for the rights to her old ones, one for one. She said that the deal would tie her to anyone Borchetta decided to offer Big Machine.
“I walked away because I knew once I signed that contract, Scott Borchetta would sell the label, thereby selling me and my future,” she said.
Borchetta countered the accusations against Braun, who has also been defended in recent days by Justin Bieber.
“Scooter has always been and will continue to be a supporter and honest custodian for Taylor and her music,” he said in his statement.
Swift's legal team is backing up her version of events, saying that Swift was never offered to buy her masters outright the way that Borchetta claimed.
“Scott Borchetta never gave Taylor Swift an opportunity to purchase her masters, or the label, outright with a check in the way he is now apparently doing for others,” attorney Donald Passman said in a statement to People.
Braun, for his part, said that he tried to arrange a talk about the masters sale with Swift. As with all things Taylor, expect the truth of this to come out in pieces over the next several years.
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