Taylor Swift has responded to the news thatScooter Braun sold the master rights to her first six albums to an investment fund.- In a lengthy note to her fans, Swift said Braun wouldn't let her bid on her
music until she signed "an ironclad NDA" that would bar her from saying a negative word about him ever again. - Swift said this kind of requirement was "NOT normal" and that she believed Braun would have never sold her master recordings back to her.
- She also confirmed that she knew about Braun's sale to Shamrock Holdings but declined a partnership with the fund because of Braun's ability to profit from the deal.
- "I have recently begun re-recording my older music and it has already proven to be both exciting and creatively fulfilling," she wrote. "I have plenty of surprises in store."
Taylor Swift has responded to Scooter Braun selling the master rights to her first six albums.
The sale was reported by Variety on Monday, just 17 months after Braun acquired ownership of Big Machine Label Group — including Swift's catalog, from her debut self-titled album to 2017's "Reputation" — in a $300 million sale, according to Billboard. At the time, Swift said she was "sad and grossed out" upon hearing the news.
Now Braun, a celebrity manager, has specifically sold Swift's master recordings to a private-equity company called Shamrock Holdings.
Swift clarified her stance on the sale with a lengthy note to her fans on social media.
The 30-year-old "Folklore" singer said she wanted to regain ownership of her music and tried to enter negotiations with Braun but that his team required her to sign "an ironclad NDA" before she could even place a bid.
According to Swift, the nondisclosure agreement would forbid her from saying a negative word about Braun ever again.
—Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) November 16, 2020
"So, I would have to sign a document that would silence me forever before I could even have a chance to bid on my own work," she wrote. "My legal team said that this is absolutely NOT normal, and they've never seen an NDA like this presented unless it was to silence an assault accuser by paying them off."
She added: "He would never even quote my team a price. These master recordings were not for sale to me."
Swift also said she was aware of the sale to Shamrock before the news was reported: "This was the second time my music had been sold without my knowledge," she said.
She said she was notified about the sale from Shamrock itself but that Braun's team "had required that they made no contact with me or my team, or the deal would be off."
Shamrock may have wanted to make a deal with Swift to collaborate with her to promote the music in the future.
However, Swift said she declined a partnership with the fund because of Braun's ability to profit from the deal.
"I learned that under their terms Scooter Braun will continue to profit off my old musical catalog for many years," she wrote. "I was hopeful and open to the possibility of a partnership with Shamrock, but Scooter's participation is a non-starter for me."
For "transparency and clarification," she even shared the letter she sent to Shamrock in October, in response to the news that Braun planned to sell her masters.
Finally, the 10-time Grammy winner confirmed that she had begun to rerecord her first six albums, which she teased last year in response to Braun's purchase.
"It has already proven to be both exciting and creatively fulfilling," she wrote. "I have plenty of surprises in store."
A representative for Scooter Braun didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
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