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On January 25, local time, Variety confirmed that Scooter Braun has been named the sole CEO of HYBE America.
He previously shared the title of co-CEO alongside Lenzo Yoon after HYBE took over Ithaca Holdings in April 2021, after Bang Shi-hyuk, aka Hitman Bang, was given a 100 percent stake in the company and complete control over their roster of artists like Justin Beiber, Ariana Grande, and Demi Lovato, among others.
However, the news hasn’t gone down well with many fans who are worried because of Braun’s controversial feud with singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. BTS fans are particularly worried if his appointment as HYBE America’s sole CEO will have any impact on their overseas activities.
A user snarkily commented that the company will become go in two years now with Scooter Braun’s appointment as HYBE America’s CEO.
Scooter Braun’s past feud with Taylor Swift is one of the reasons why fans are worried about his appointment
Pop culture fans are aware of Taylor Swift’s infamous and controversial feud with Scooter Braun in November 2020. For the unversed, Scooter Braun acquired Taylor Swift’s previous management Big Machine Records in 2019.
The Anti-Hero singer publicly called out HYBE America's newly appointed CEO, then celebrity manager to her and a host of other artists, in a lengthy post on Tumblr, accusing him of purchasing her masters and allegedly bullying her, trying to exert “tyrannical control” over her music.
Taylor Swift recorded her first six albums at the start of her career at Big Machine Records. However, when she tried to claim control over her masters, she was denied so by Braun, who not only acquired her masters but also sold them for a whopping $300 million to an investment fund not affiliated with the Bejeweled singer.
In a Tumblr post titled Don’t know what else to do, the American songstress accused Braun and Big Machine Records CEO Scott Borchetta of allegedly preventing her from performing her old songs during a medley at the 2019 AMAs, where she also received the Artist of the Decade award.
She also revealed that when Netflix approached them for the Miss Americana documentary, Borchetta and Braun declined to give them access to Taylor Swift’s older music and performance footage videos.
She also wrote that they are bullying her into obeying them and not speaking publicly about this matter, allegations categorically denied by both parties.
Almost two years after their public feud, HYBE America's new CEO revealed he regrets the nasty public fight with the Folklore hitmaker. In an interview with NPR, Braun revealed that he would have handled things differently compared to how things panned out back in the day.
“Yes, I would have. I learned an important lesson from that.”
He revealed that he was under a non-disclosure agreement with Big Machine Records and was in fact told that Taylor Swift was not interested in her Masters. He confessed that he expected the other party to try and understand his situation, however, that didn’t happen, and instead, it became a media fight.
HYBE America's CEO revealed that he is now focusing on the future and putting his feud with Swift behind him.
Will Scooter Braun’s appointment impact BTS?
To answer this burning question: No, Scooter Braun’s appointment as HYBE America’s CEO won’t have an impact on BTS because Bangtan is affiliated with BIG HIT MUSIC, which comes under HYBE Korea.
To explain this, Twitter user @winterlyblooms illustrated a simple graphic to help fans understand HYBE Corporation’s distribution better. HYBE Corporation is divided into four verticals: HYBE Solutions, which houses HYBE Edu, HYBE Solutions Japan, Superb, and HYBE T&D Japan. HYPE Platforms, which currently has Weverse Company.
HYBE Labels, which has all the major managements housing fans’ favorite groups: BIG HIT MUSIC (BTS and TXT), Source Music (LE SSERAFIM), BeLift Lab (ENHYPEN), PLEDIS (SEVENTEEN), KOZ Entertainment (Zico), and HYBE Labels Japan.
Finally, HYBE America, which will be solely managed by Scooter Braun, has Ithaca Holdings, which in turn has SB Projects and Big Machine Records.
As per Variety, HYBE has not responded to what Lenzo Yoon’s future role will be with the company.
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