Taylor Swift Pleads for Fans’ Help Amid Reported Scott Borchetta + Scooter Braun Music Block
Taylor Swift is asking her fans for help after she revealed on Thursday (November 14) night that her former record label head, Scott Borchetta, and current Big Machine owner, Scooter Braun, will not let her perform music from her first six studio albums at the upcoming AMAs.
Swift posted a heartfelt plea to fans on Twitter asking for their help in being able to perform music from her six first albums that Big Machine currently owns the rights to. She titled the letter, "Don't know what else to do."
The 29-year-old reported that Borchetta and Braun are not allowing her to perform a medley of her hits at her upcoming American Music Awards performance where she will be honored with the Artist of the Decade award. By performing the music at the awards show, the pair claim that it would be considered re-recording the music, which she is legally not allowed to do until November of 2020. Her sixth studio album, Reputation, was recorded following Big Machine's Swift discography acquisition, so those songs are safe.
Along with not being able to perform her previous work at the awards show, the record label giants are not allowing Swift usage of previous performance footage or any of the music from her six albums for an upcoming Netflix documentary.
"This isn't the way I had planned on telling you this news - Netflix has created a documentary about my life for the past few years," Swift wrote. "Scott and Scooter have declined the use of my older music or performance footage for this project, even though there is no mention of either them or Big Machine Records anywhere in the film."
Swift shared that she hopes speaking out will bring awareness to other artists and "potentially help them avoid a similar fate." She then asked her fans for help in pleading with Braun and Borchetta along with the number of artists that they work with, to see if any of them can "talk some sense into the men who are exercising tyrannical control over someone who just wants to play the music she wrote."
The "You Need To Calm Down" singer then pleaded for help from The Carlyle Group, who put up the money for the sale of Big Machine to Ithaca Holdings. She mentioned that she has been trying to work this out privately with her team, but have not been able to resolve this matter. As of now, the AMA's performance, Netflix documentary and any other recorded events she is set to play through November of 2020 are a "question mark."
There's no word if any of her upcoming concerts or Lover Festivals will be affected by Braun and Borchetta's decision.
Read Swift's letter in full, below.