Scooter Braun Stepping Back From Management After Losing Demi Lovato & Ariana Grande As Clients

Mega-manager Scooter Braun is taking a break from managing.

Braun will focus on his new position as the CEO of HYBE America, the United States branch of the South Korean multinational entertainment company that has K-Pop’s biggest act, BTS, under their umbrella.

This comes after reports that big-name singers like Ariana Grande and Demi Lovato are reported to have left Braun’s firm, SB Projects.

In addition, Braun’s important relationship with Justin Bieber seems to be weakening, with reports that the two will go their separate ways. Representatives for both Bieber and Braun have denied these stories.

Other names who have left Braun’s management circle in the past year include J Balvin and Idina Menzel.

Notable names still under Braun’s SB Projects include the Black Eyed Peas, Carly Rae Jepsen, The Kid LAROI, QUAVO, Tori Kelly and Kelly Rowland.

Braun started in the music industry after becoming the head of marketing of Jermaine Dupri‘s label So So Def. In 2007, Braun created SB Projects, an entertainment and marketing company. A year later, Braun discovered Bieber by scrolling through YouTube.

Braun also owns a holding company called Ithaca Holdings. In June 2019, Ithaca acquired Big Machine Label Group, the record label that owned the masters of Taylor Swift’s first six albums.

This sparked a highly publicized feud between Braun and Swift, who stated that she tried to purchase her masters from Big Machine, but the owner of the label, Scott Borchetta, would not let her. Borchetta has claimed that Swift declined the opportunity to buy her masters. Swift called Braun an “incessant, manipulative bully,” in response to the controversy between the two.

This inspired Swift to re-record her six albums. Swift’s first three re-recorded albums, Fearless, Red and Speak Now, have already been released, while her re-recorded version of 1989 is due to be released in October 2023.