Over the past week, reports detailing music mogul Scooter Braun have been piling up, namely that stars have been dropping Braun as their manager. Justin Bieber, Demi Lovato and Ariana Grande have all allegedly left Braun’s SB Projects, a media management company he founded in 2007.
Although representatives for both Lovato and Braun have confirmed that the singer is no longer managed by him following an “amicable” parting of ways, rumors surrounding Bieber and Grande’s alleged departures still haven’t been confirmed. Representatives for the artists, nor the singers themselves, have yet to comment publicly on the situation.
One theory on the situation is that rather than Braun being dropped by artists, he’s in fact pivoting to focus on his new role as CEO of HYBE America, a position he assumed in 2021 alongside co-CEO Lenzo Yoon. At the same time, Braun also sold Ithaca Holdings, the parent company for SB Projects, to HYBE America for $1.05 billion USD.
The South Korea-based HYBE is responsible for launching the careers of BTS, SEVENTEEN and other major K-pop groups and solo artists. In the beginning of 2023, Braun became the sole CEO of HYBE America and is tasked with growing its presence stateside and expanding its influence in the US music industry.
Other news reports have alleged that Braun has been angling to get out of management for some time now. The move wouldn’t be totally surprising given that both Bieber and Grande have taken a step back from releasing new projects in the past few years. It’s possible that the artists are still signed to SB Projects but, considering that Braun’s focus has largely shifted to HYBE, are operating under different managers at the company.
“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,” an anonymous source close to the matter told Variety. “People are spreading rumors 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.”
While Braun has yet to speak out on the actual truth of the matter, he took to social media to poke fun at the rumor mill.
“Breaking news… I’m no longer managing myself,” he wrote in a tweet.
In other music news, Pharrell confirmed that he’s working on new N.E.R.D. music.
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