Scooter Braun rarely talks. When he does, it matters. The former manager behind Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, and Kanye West — and the man at the centre of one of the most explosive feuds in music industry history — sat for a rare 90-minute interview that dropped Thursday, covering Taylor Swift’s masters controversy, Kanye West’s genius and fall from grace, his new relationship with Sydney Sweeney, and where his head is now that he has stepped back from the industry that made him famous.
Braun retired from management and stepped down as CEO of Hybe America last year. Since then, he has stayed quiet — building what he describes as a family office, making investments, and focusing on his children. Thursday’s interview is the most candid he has been in years. On almost every subject, he went further than he has before.
On Taylor Swift — A Feud With Someone He Barely Knew
The Taylor Swift section is the most striking. Braun’s acquisition of Big Machine Records in 2019 — the label that owned the master recordings of Swift’s first six albums — triggered a public feud that made him one of the most discussed villains in pop culture. He lost friends, his reputation was shredded overnight, and the story followed him for years. He eventually sold the masters. Swift later rerecorded all six albums. The feud became one of the defining narratives of the music industry in the 2020s.
What Braun revealed Thursday is that it was a feud with someone he essentially did not know.
“I don’t know Taylor Swift. I think I’ve met her in my life three times. I have never had a substantial conversation with her in my life,” he said. “I one time got invited to a private party by her. She told me she had the utmost respect for me. I told her I had the most respect for her. You don’t spend $300 million buying a label that she’s on unless you’re excited at the opportunity to work with her. I will never truly understand that situation.”
He said the three years before the Big Machine acquisition involved zero contact between them. “I think I spoke to her, really, once for more than two minutes. But it was a very nice conversation. And beyond that, nothing ever.” He described going from being “loved and appreciated for over a decade to literally a villain the next night” — and said he chooses to be grateful for the experience rather than bitter about it.
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He did offer one substantive observation about the broader industry impact. The controversy, he argued, accelerated a shift that was already coming — artists increasingly demanding ownership of their master recordings. “I think what it did bring to light is that artists are going to start wanting to own their masters, and I think you’re seeing artists more and more do that, and I think that’s great.”
On Kanye West — Genius, Grief and an Extended Silence
Braun spoke about managing Kanye West in more detail than he has ever offered publicly. He described years of extraordinary creative collaboration, sitting in West’s New York apartment with the late Virgil Abloh the night before the 2016 Pablo tour launched — watching West design a tour merchandise t-shirt on the spot that went on to break every single merch record in touring history. He described watching West pace beneath the floating stage with his phone, predicting exactly how fans would film and share the show before anyone else had conceptualised it.
“I saw some of the most genius moments I’ve ever seen — of inspiration, of how he works, of how his mind works,” Braun said. “Kanye taught me how to see colors and design differently.”
The admiration in his voice was genuine. So was the pain when he addressed West’s antisemitic comments in recent years. “The things that he’s gone through and the things he’s said have been very upsetting to me. My family was in the Holocaust, and some of the things he said were incredibly inappropriate and very frustrating. And that’s the reason, probably, we haven’t spoken in a very long time.”
But Braun stopped short of closing the door entirely. He spoke about wanting to extend the same grace and opportunity for growth that he has sought for himself in difficult moments. “I want to always believe people have an opportunity to have salvation and growth. I know from my own personal experience, he was dealing with a lot of mental health issues. I haven’t had the experience myself personally, but I want to give anyone the benefit of a doubt.”
On Sydney Sweeney — Praise Without a Name
Braun mentioned his new relationship without ever using Sweeney’s name — but left little ambiguity. “I’ve met an extraordinary woman, kind and generous and smart, and real and down to earth — and one of the biggest surprises ever,” he said. Asked whether he was watching the current season of Euphoria and whether he liked it, Braun replied: “I am catching it. I’m biased, I like it. I think there’s been an incredible performance by a certain actress.”
On Justin Bieber, Spencer Pratt and What Comes Next
On Bieber, Braun described the moment he first saw him as something close to a supernatural certainty — a “download” or “cheat code” that told him to trust his instincts despite universal scepticism. “He was one of the most extraordinary talents. He was charismatic, he was brave and we went on an incredible ride. And I couldn’t be happier for where he is today.”
He was unexpectedly enthusiastic about Spencer Pratt‘s Los Angeles mayoral campaign, describing the reality television personality as someone bringing issues to light that nobody else is addressing and speaking plainly for people who are frustrated. “I think it’s very possible he can win,” Braun said.
As for his own next move, he is keeping the answer deliberately open. “I think I’m a little restless,” he admitted. “Maybe I want to build something, but I’m going to be patient this time and be grateful for what I have and the people that I have in my life. I’m just trying to pay attention to see what comes to me, instead of me trying to grab something.”
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