Behind the scenes: Scott Borchetta's complicated Taylor Swift legacy
The owner of Big Machine Records, Scott Borchetta, is on the blacklist of all Taylor Swift fans. Recently, he decided to embark on a sentimental journey reflecting on the beginnings of his relationship with the pop megastar.
4 November 2024 17:56
Scott Borchetta owns Big Machine Records, the first label Taylor Swift worked with. He is also why Swift is releasing "Taylor's Versions," re-recording her first six albums. The rights to these albums were sold by Borchetta in 2019, along with the label, to Scooter Braun. Swift described Braun as an "incessant, manipulative bully." The artist expressed that these two men "controlled a woman who did not want to have associations with them." It's safe to say that Swifties—the artist's dedicated fans—are not fond of Borchetta.
Scott Borchetta recalled his first meeting with Taylor Swift
On November 3 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time, a post appeared on Borchetta's Instagram where he reminisced about his first meeting with the star 20 years ago. Swift was only 14 years old at the time. She was the first artist Borchetta signed in 2005 for his label, Big Machine Records, which he founded after leaving Universal Music. The 62-year-old wrote on Instagram: "It was 20 years ago today… a Beatles reference may not be too far off the mark… 😊." He added, "Always proud of the art and the work she did while we were together… and just as proud of her now. Keep crushing it..."
It is worth noting that Borchetta is skilled at moderating comments on Instagram, as no negative comments are visible. However, elsewhere on social media, Swifties express their outrage over the label owner's post. Thousands of comments appeared, such as "Stay away from her!" and more detailed criticisms like: "This is ridiculous. Attention seeking. Fraud." Compounding the controversy was that Scooter Braun liked Borchetta's post.
How did Scott Borchetta treat Taylor Swift?
Taylor Swift fans reminded social media users of her 2019 statement about how Borchetta treated her. She wrote that she found out about the sale of her original recordings only when the transaction was made public. She stated that she had unsuccessfully tried for years to buy back her music from Big Machine Records.
Swift concluded, " This is my worst case scenario. This is what happens when you sign a deal at fifteen to someone for whom the term ‘loyalty’ is clearly just a contractual concept. And when that man says ‘Music has value’, he means its value is beholden to men who had no part in creating it."
