The rise of Scooter Braun from party planner to music mogul 'as clients quit'

23 August 2023 , 11:28

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The rise of Scooter Braun from party planner to music mogul 'as clients quit'

Scooter Braun first got started in the music world in 2002, when he was in charge of planning after parties on the Anger Management Tour, featuring Ludacris and Eminem. Shortly after he met Jermaine Dupri, the director of music label So So Def Recordings, who offered him a marketing position.

After learning all he could, he moved away from So So Def and launched his own marketing business, SB Projects, by brokering a $12million (£9.5million) campaign deal between Ludacris and car company Pontiac. In 2008, he discovered Justin Bieber on YouTube and encouraged him to move from Canada to the US, where he would quickly become a teen star.

Scooter also managed the careers of Tori Kelly, Carly Rae Jepsen, Kanye West, Black Eyed Peas, David Guetta, and others. In 2013, he signed Ariana Grande, who has reached similar levels of success to her counterpart, Justin Bieber. Scooter was also behind the legendary partnership between Kanye West and Adidas, which unfortunately came to an end after Kanye's anti-Semitic remarks surfaced.

Scooter Braun discovered Justin Bieber (Getty Images Europe)

Former Disney Channel star Demi Lovato has worked with Scooter since 2019 and they were a team for her latest album, Revamped. Speaking of her album, she recently said: "With Revamped, I wanted to pay homage to the songs that resonated the most with fans and played a big role in my career by breathing an exciting new life into them,” said Lovato in a press release. “Creating this project has been incredibly fun and allowed me to express my passion for rock music in a new way… I can’t wait for everyone to hear more!"

Now, Scooter's top clients, including J Balvin and Idina Menzel have announced that they are cutting ties with the manager. Ariana Grande's apparent announcement came just hours after Demi Lovato's similar news, which confirmed that the split was seemingly amicable as the music manager gushed over her in a birthday message on the same day, calling her one of the "kindest souls".

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Ariana has cut ties with Scooter (Getty Images for Live Nation)

J Balvin confirmed his exit from the label in May. The Colombian singer initially signed with him in 2019. One star said to be sticking by Scooter however is Justin Bieber. The Baby singer, 29, recently denied he would be dropping Scooter after reports suggested his wife Hailey Bieber is now heavily involved in his business affairs.

Sources have said that Scooter is simply readjusting his business. Speaking to Variety, one source said: "He's getting out of management — he has been for years. That’s the real story."

Another source explained: "All of Scooter Braun’s clients are under contract and negotiations have been going on for several months as Scooter steps into his larger role as HYBE America CEO. People are spreading rumours based on what they know, but they are off. Scooter’s team at SB Projects are still handling both Justin and Ariana as they work through what this new structure looks like."

Famously, Justin backed his manager when Taylor Swift had slammed Scooter for what she believed to be unethical business deals involving the rights to her masters. As the feud unfolded, Justin took to social media in 2019. He wrote: "Scooter has had your back since the days you graciously let me open up for you. What were you trying to accomplish by posting that blog? Seems to be like it was to get sympathy u [sic] also knew that in posting that your fans would go and bully Scooter."

Lauren Gordon