Music mogul Scooter Braun, known for guiding the careers of dozens of stars, including Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, and Demi Lovato, as well as for his infamous feud with Taylor Swift, has announced he will be stepping down as CEO of HYBE America.
HYBE is a major South Korean music company best known for managing BTS and other big K-pop acts. In 2021, it bought Braun's company, which manages Bieber, Grande, and other artists, to expand into the U.S. music market. This deal made Braun an important link between HYBE's K-pop business and American pop stars.
On Monday, HYBE announced that Braun would transition from CEO to an executive adviser as a director of the board and senior adviser to HYBE chairman/CEO Bang Si-Hyuk, according to Billboard. Additionally, Braun plans to explore new opportunities beyond HYBE but will continue to maintain a role within the company.
"Scooter has been an extraordinary partner, a visionary executive, and a true catalyst for cultural exchange," Bang said in a statement. "His contributions have been vital in establishing our ambitious presence in the U.S. market. I am deeply grateful for his leadership, his astute instincts and his unwavering passion for artists. We wish him immense success in his exciting next chapter and look forward to continuing our partnership in executing HYBE's global vision."
Braun has taken a step back from his career, having announced his retirement from overseeing artists' careers in June 2024.
"I have been blessed to have had a 'Forrest Gump'-like life while witnessing and taking part in the journeys of some of the most extraordinarily talented people the world has ever seen," he wrote in a statement to Instagram at the time. "I'm constantly pinching myself and asking 'how did I get here?' And after 23 years, this chapter as a music manager has come to an end."
Reflecting on his career, Braun wrote that, while he had "loved" every moment of his job since age 19, he wanted to focus on being a father. The decision, he said, comes after his "personal life took some hits."
Braun made headlines in 2019 when he purchased Swift's longtime record label, Big Machine Records, as well as the master recordings of her first six studio albums and then later sold them to an investment fund for reportedly over $300 million despite Swift's wishes to purchase the masters herself.
She later slammed him as a "bully" and "the definition of toxic male privilege in our industry," according to The Guardian.
In November 2020, Swift said, "[Braun] would never even quote my team a price" and that she was asked to sign a nondisclosure agreement that would "silence [her] forever." Braun's team contested the assertion.
Swift then rereleased four of her six albums under the name "Taylor's Version," adding previously unreleased songs known as "From the Vault Tracks."
In May, the pop icon celebrated regaining control over her entire body of work. According to a lengthy note on social media, Swift purchased her catalog of recordings — originally released through Big Machine Records — from their most recent owner, the private equity firm Shamrock Capital. She did not disclose the amount.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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