Scooter Braun — former manager to Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Kanye West and many more — does not give many interviews, especially since he retired from management and stepped down as CEO of Hybe America last year. But he sat for a long one with Suzy Weiss for her “Second Thought” podcast that dropped today. (Watch the full interview here.)
In it, he talks about his admiration for reality star and Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt, his new girlfriend Sydney Sweeney (briefly), managing Bieber, Grande and West, and about Taylor Swift, whose ire he provoked by acquiring the rights to her first six albums (which he later sold, and are now owned by Swift).
He also speaks at length about where he’s at in his life and career right now, which is largely focused on his children.
“Let’s just say I saw everything, okay?,” he says. “I managed a lot of different personalities and I saw everything — part of the job is you see the worst and you see the best of people. I remember getting stopped by Paul McCartney at the Grammys years ago, and he was like, ‘You’re one of the few people who gets to the ride at this level, what this is.’
“It was such a unique privilege to have that as part of my life and get to witness that. And do you see a lot of craziness? Do you get to see the up and downs? Yeah. And you also get to see some people growing up in front of the entire world and being judged in their adolescence, when none of us get judged that way in our adolescence. I think the best thing you can do in the job is to show up for them and try to protect them as best you can. Sometimes you protect them too much. And part of that is giving people grace.”
As for what’s next, he leaves the question open, although he admits, “I think I’m a little restless. I’ve been having a really good time, building the family office, helping people, meeting great entrepreneurs and making great investments, enjoying my relationship, enjoying my children, enjoying my friends, enjoying my life.
“Maybe I want to build something, but I’m going to be patient this time and be grateful for what I have and the people that I have in my life. I’m just trying to pay attention to see what comes to me, instead of me trying to grab something.”
Highlights from the interview follow (edited for clarity), which begins with Weiss asking him which Los Angeles mayoral candidate will get his vote.
“I never tell people who I vote for. I’m a moderate, so I kind of vote both ways. And what I really do appreciate about what Spencer [Pratt] is doing is he is bringing a lot of things to light that no one has brought to light, and I think he’s speaking for a lot of people who are very frustrated and want common sense and want people to speak plainly and address certain things. It’s very interesting to watch. I think it’s very possible he can win.”
He spoke at length about his excitement at launching Justin Bieber’s career, but the substance is in this statement:
“Sometimes it’s like you get a download or a cheat code and it almost tells you, ‘This is the path, do not doubt yourself [although] everyone else is going to doubt you,’ right? ‘But do this.’ And when I saw him, that download came. He was one of the most extraordinary talents. He was charismatic, he was brave and we went on an incredible ride. And I couldn’t be happier for where he is today.”
His spoke in possibly unprecedented detail about his period managing Kanye West, how it came about, and his feelings about West’s antisemitic comments.
“I got to manage Kanye for a couple of years. We went on an incredible run. Kanye taught me how to see colors and design differently. Watching him work, I saw design differently. I saw some of the most genius moments I’ve ever seen — of inspiration, of how he works, of how his mind works. I remember the [2016] ‘Pablo’ tour — right before we launched the tour, [which had the] floating stage, I remember watching Kanye with his phone walking around below the stage, and I’m like, ‘What are you doing?’ He goes, ‘This is how kids are going to watch it, this is how they’re going to record it. This is what’s going to go on the internet.’ And he was right. It was one of the greatest tours ever, and he saw the vision before anyone else.
“I remember before the tour opened we didn’t have any merch — and obviously Kanye West merch sells a lot. I’m arguing ‘We need merch!’ and he’s like, ‘No, if it isn’t great, I don’t want to do it.’ I was so frustrated and finally he’s like, ‘Well, come over tonight.’ We go to his apartment in New York and it’s me and him and Virgil [Abloh], rest in peace. And we’re talking and he’slike, ‘Why do we need merch?’ and I’m explaining, ‘This is how we subsidize everything,’ and I remember saying to him, ‘When I was a kid, my dad took me to concerts and I had this chest where I put all the tickets [stubs], and that’s why kids get merch now — they don’t have the ticket because it’s all digital.’
“And he goes, ‘Virgil, come here.’ He basically designs a t-shirt that says ‘admission,’ puts the date of the show and everything else, and he goes, ‘There’s your merch.’ And it ended up being like, the greatest selling t-shirt and broke every single merch record. That was the genius of him.
“Years later, we separated, and obviously the things that he’s gone through and the things he’s said been have been very upsetting to me. But I’m I look back at those years as, you know, really powerful years and things I was very fond of and appreciative of.
“If he and I ever talk, you know, I’ll have our own conversation. I want to always believe people have an opportunity to have salvation and growth. And as much as I was very much upset because my family was in the Holocaust, and some of the things he said were incredibly inappropriate [and] very frustrating. And that’s the reason, probably, we haven’t spoken in a very long time. And I know in myself I’ve grown in certain situations and have wanted people to give me empathy and an opportunity for growth. And I think it wouldn’t be right to not extend it to someone else.
“I also know from my own personal experience, he was dealing with a lot of mental health issues and, ‘Do I trust in this moment that the apology is real?’ I haven’t had the experience myself personally, but I want to give anyone the benefit of a doubt.”
While he is cautious in what he says about Taylor Swift, he speaks at length about the controversy over his acquisition of her masters.
“[I] went from being like, loved and appreciated for over a decade to literally a villain the next night. I don’t want to go into that, but I will say something that will really sum it up that I don’t know if I’ve ever really said:
“I don’t know Taylor Swift. I think I’ve met her in my life three times. I have never had a substantial conversation with her in my life. I one time got invited to a private party by her. She told me she had the utmost respect for me. I told her I had the most respect for her. You don’t spend $300 million buying a label that she’s on unless you’re excited at the opportunity to work with her. I will never truly understand that situation. To this day, I wish her nothing but the best.
“I learned a tremendous amount from it. I chose to grow from it. I’m grateful for it at this point in my life. But I think there’s this big misconception that, like, we knew each other and we had this feud and I managed her for years. And people are usually shocked to find out that I legitimately don’t know her and didn’t have many interactions with her and never really knew her.
“I think I spoke to her, really, once for like more than two minutes. But it was a very nice conversation. And beyond that, nothing ever. And then the three years prior to us buying Big Machine, she and I had no contact. I think it was two years. The party was like two years earlier or three years earlier, and then never had any contact through the whole thing. So I’m just as confused that this is part of my life as you are. But, but, but I choose to learn and grow from it.
“Labels make bets on artists, and they own the masters and the artists own their publishing. Artists end up selling their publishing whether they need the money or decide they want to sell, and the labels are very, very well-funded so they don’t have to transact the masters. The majority, to this day, of masters are still owned by labels. As confusing as [the situation was] to me, I think what it did bring to light is that artists are going to start wanting to own their masters, and I think you’re seeing artists more and more do that, and I think that’s great.”
He also speaks about Sydney Sweeney, albeit without ever mentioning her by name.
“I’ve met an extraordinary woman, kind and generous and smart, and real and down to earth — and one of the biggest surprises ever.” Asked if he’s catching this season of “Euphoria” and whether he likes it, he replies, “I am catching it. I’m biased, I like it. I think there’s been an incredible performance by a certain actress.”
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