In an impassioned Tumblr post on Sunday, June 30, Taylor Swift reacted to the news that the master rights to her first six albums had been sold by her former label, Big Machine Label Group, to powerful music manager Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings LLC. Swift’s letter addressed the founder of the label, Scott Borchetta, as well as Braun, describing the acquisition as her “worst case scenario” following years of perceived “bullying” from Braun and his artists. She concluded by speaking directly to fellow musicians hoping to avoid this experience. “Hopefully,” Swift wrote, “Young artists or kids with musical dreams will read this and learn about how to better protect themselves in a negotiation. You deserve to own the art you make.”
