What’s up with Scooter Braun’s artist list? Here’s what we know and what’s still speculation

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Scooter Braun is one of the most recognizable names in the music business due to his unique work as an executive and entrepreneur. He’s managed many of your favorite artists, rocketed artists like Justin Bieber to stratospheric fame and drawn their wrath Taylor Swift and their legions of fans for its business practices.

Rumors about it were circulating on the internet on Friday Justin Bieber left Braun, his longtime manager – and the man credited with discovering him. In the days that followed, speculation mounted and the media began reporting that some of Braun’s other Hype Profile clients were taking a liking Ariana GrandeAnd Demi Lovato have also parted ways with him – all is yet to be confirmed.

However, Braun has not made a public statement tweeted as a jokewriting, “Breaking news… I can’t manage myself anymore.”

As the story continues, here’s everything we know – and everything we don’t know – about what’s going on with Scooter Braun and its strong customer base.

Who did Scooter Braun manage?

Without confirmation from the artists, their teams, or Braun himself, any changes to Braun’s roster are conjecture. AP has reached out to every artist listed on the list as being managed by Braun SB Projects website and only heard from a select few.

Representatives for Carly Rae Jepsen, BabyJake and Asher Roth confirmed to the AP that these artists have not worked with Braun for some time.

A person close to Idina Menzel told AP that the singer is no longer managed by Braun but is not authorized to speak publicly.

A rep for pop star Ava Max confirmed that Braun is still representing her.

OK, but why is Scooter Braun a big deal?

In the early 2000s, Braun dropped out of Emory College to host parties for elite musicians who traveled to Atlanta: Ludacris, Eminem, and even Britney Spears. Jermaine Dupri recruited him as executive marketing director of So So Def. Later, in 2007, Braun founded his own talent management company, SB Projects, where he discovered Justin Bieber on YouTube in 2008 and spread the word about the teenage heartthrob through his use of social media.

SB Projects includes a few ventures: Management that has included clients such as Bieber, Ariana Grande, J Balvin and for a short stay, Kanye West; Sheba Publishing, a joint venture with Universal Music Group Publishing; and Schoolboy Records, a record label first made famous by Braun’s client Asher Roth and his 2009 hit “I love college.”

Braun operated its various companies under an entity called Ithaca Holdings.

In the midst of his incredible success, in 2019 Braun bought Big Machine Records, the label that originally signed Taylor Swift and released her first six records. Its CEO, Scott Borchetta, remained in office. With the purchase, Brown acquired property to Swift’s master recordings, which he sold to an investment fund the following year. In response, Swift announced that she would re-records their albums owning their new masters in a project called “Taylor’s Version”.

In April 2021, Braun sold Ithaca Holdings in a $1.05 billion deal to HYBE – the public company formerly known as Big Hit Entertainment and best known for founding the K-pop group BTS. Accordingly the company fillingBraun would receive about 462,380 shares of the company ($86.2 million in total), while its star clients Grande and Bieber would each receive 53,557 shares, or nearly $11.0 million apiece.

In January 2023 he became the sole CEO of HYBE America shared the title after merging with Big Hit’s Lenzo Yoon.

Backup – what does Braun do with HYBE?

When Brauns Ithaca Holdings merged with global HYBE in April 2021, it became one of the largest music companies in the world. Just months later, in July, Bit Hit Entertainment/HYBE CEO Bang Si-hyuk resigned, Park Ji-won took over, and Lenzo Yoon and Scooter Braun were named co-CEOs of HYBE America. In January, Braun became sole CEO — which means he’s busy.

There was speculation If Braun’s artists are leaving SB Projects management, it’s because Braun is slowly shifting his focus to HYBE America instead of serving as artist manager. So far, however, there is no confirmation that this is the case.

What does a music manager do?

The role of a music manager is elusive and depends largely on the nature of the relationship between the entrepreneur and the musician. The best music managers – and we exclude here business and tour managers, whose specialties are in the title – are tightly organized and committed to the success of their artist. They have a deep understanding of the industry and the artist’s place in it.

They keep their artists’ projects running smoothly and connect teams to achieve a specific goal. Think of them as the behind-the-scenes engine that enables the artist to succeed. They often invest in an artist and help them grow, handling everything from creative production to day-to-day operations.

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