Let’s stop pretending this is random. Artists don’t just wake up one day and leave one of the most powerful managers in the world. When multiple A-listers walk out at once, something is broken. And with Scooter Braun, the cracks have been visible for years. Start with Taylor Swift. In 2019, Braun bought Big Machine for around $300 million. That deal gave him ownership of her first six albums, her entire legacy. She tried to buy them back, but she wasn’t given a clean deal. Instead, she was reportedly pushed into conditions she didn’t agree with, including restrictive terms that would limit what she could say.
Then it got worse. He sold her masters to Shamrock Holdings for over $300 to $400 million and structured it in a way where he could still profit off her music. So even if she bought them back later, he still wins. That’s exactly why she refused to play along. Instead, she re-recorded her entire catalog, not for drama but for control. Years later, she finally bought everything back herself, not because of him but in spite of him. That alone tells you everything.
Now look at Justin Bieber, the same artist Braun “discovered.” In 2022, Bieber sold his entire catalog for $200 million. Officially, it was because of financial issues and tour-related losses. But let’s not act dumb. When an artist at that level is forced into a situation where selling their life’s work becomes the move, it raises questions about the ecosystem around them. And Braun was at the center of that ecosystem for over a decade. There are even reports that Braun advised him on timing the sale for financial reasons. So maybe he didn’t force it, but he was always there, and that matters.
Now zoom out. Ariana Grande left. Demi Lovato left. Multiple others quietly dipped. You don’t lose your entire roster unless your system stops working for the people inside it.
And then there’s the image problem. Because it’s not just business anymore, it’s optics. The industry has changed. Audiences have changed. Power is no longer respected blindly. It’s questioned, dissected, dragged. Braun represents an older version of the industry, one where executives owned everything and artists were just part of the machine. That version is dying.
So no, this isn’t a coincidence. Scooter Braun didn’t just fall off. He got exposed, not in one moment or one scandal, but over years of decisions that showed exactly how power operates behind the scenes, through control over ownership, narratives, and people. And now artists are choosing themselves, which is exactly why people like him are losing relevance. The game has changed, and for once, the artists are playing it better.
And then there’s the optics now. Scooter Braun is dating Sydney Sweeney, and this isn’t quiet or speculative anymore. They were seen kissing at the Euphoria Season 3 premiere and later leaving together hand in hand, completely public.
At the same time, the Euphoria Season 3 trailer dropped and sparked backlash. Sweeney’s character is shown in a diaper with a pacifier, fully leaning into baby-coded behaviour that a lot of people found disturbing rather than artistic. Put those two things together and it says a lot about the kind of choices people make creatively, the spaces they are comfortable in, and the image they are okay putting out into the world. At that point, it stops feeling random and starts feeling like a pattern.