Social media users are in a tailspin trying to figure out what’s going on with Scooter Braun and his famous clients — but the real situation may not be that dramatic.
“All of Scooter Braun’s clients are under contract and negotiations have been going on for several months as Scooter steps into his larger role as Hybe America CEO,” a source with knowledge of the situation told Us Weekly on Tuesday, August 22. “People are spreading rumors based on what they know, but they are off. Scooter’s team at SB Projects are still handling both Justin [Bieber] and Ariana [Grande] as they work through what this new structure looks like.”
While the legal details are still being sorted out, Grande, for her part, is ready for a new chapter.
“They are friendly but she’s outgrown him and is excited to go in a different direction,” an insider close to the singer tells Us. “Yes, there are negotiations happening because of contracts. But this is her choice. It’s time for something new.”
Hybe America is the U.S. branch of Hybe Corporation, the South Korean company formerly known as Big Hit Entertainment. Before its American expansion, Hybe was best known for kickstarting the careers of K-pop superstars BTS and Tomorrow X Together.
The speculation about Braun began on Friday, August 18, when multiple outlets reported that Bieber, 29, had cut ties with Braun, 42. Reps for both parties, however, told Us that the rumors were untrue.
After the Bieber speculation came and went, reports circulated that Grande, 30, and Demi Lovato had also stopped working with Braun. Grande has been working with Braun for the last 10 years, while Lovato, 31, signed with his company SB Projects in May 2019.
“[Demi] is a special person and a special talent. I’m … we … are honored,” Braun wrote via Instagram at the time alongside photos of the duo. “Welcome to the family Demi.”
Several outlets, however, confirmed earlier this week Lovato is no longer part of Braun’s roster, citing an amicable exit between the singer and the manager. And while the first source says Grande is still tied to Braun, a second source told Us that he was no longer her manager.
Lovato previously defended Braun amid his feud with Taylor Swift over the ownership of her master recordings. Braun famously purchased Swift’s back catalog in 2019 after he bought her former record label Big Machine. Swift, 32, was not happy about the situation and announced plans to re-record her first six albums.
“I learned about Scooter Braun’s purchase of my masters as it was announced to the world,” she wrote via Tumblr in June 2019. “All I could think about was the incessant, manipulative bullying I’ve received at his hands for years.”
Lovato, for her part, said Braun was “not one” of the “bad people” she’s met in the music industry. “He’s a good man,” she wrote via Instagram at the time. “Personally, I’m grateful he came into my life when he did. Please stop ‘dragging’ people or bullying them. There’s enough hate in this world as it is.”
Braun later said he had no hard feelings toward Swift despite the tension. “I think Taylor has every right to re-record. She has every right to pursue her masters,” he told MSNBC in April 2022. “And I wish her nothing but well, and I have zero interest in saying anything bad about her. … The only thing I disagree with is weaponizing a fanbase.”
