Scooter Braun, the renowned music manager known for discovering and nurturing the careers of artists such as Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande, has announced his retirement from talent management after a 23-year career. In separate statements on their respective social media platforms, BBC News and The Los Angeles Times reported Braun's decision to step down from managing artists to focus on his role as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of HYBE America.
Braun made his mark in the music industry when he discovered Bieber on YouTube in 2008 and signed him to a record label. Over the years, he has worked with several other notable artists such as David Guetta, Kanye West, Usher, Lil Dicky, Demi Lovato and Carly Rae Jepsen.
According to BBC News' Lucy Clarke-Billings and The Los Angeles Times' Randy Lewis, Braun decided to retire from music management after one of his biggest clients wanted to part ways and go in a new direction. He did not reveal the identity of this client.
Braun expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to work with these artists, acknowledging that they had changed his life. He also shared that he was inspired by Bang Si-Hyuk, the chairman of HYBE, who understands what Braun wants to be in this new chapter as a father and CEO.
Braun's departure from music management comes after a tumultuous period in his career. In 2019, he acquired Taylor Swift's former record label Big Machine for $300m through his investment group Ithaca Holdings, gaining control of the master recordings of her first six albums. This led to a public feud between Braun and Swift, with the latter re-recording her old material to regain ownership.
Despite this, Braun has remained optimistic about his future. In his statement on Instagram, he quoted Berry Gordy's wisdom: 'It never ends the way you wanted, but it doesn't mean it didn't happen.' He added that he made a plan but found that God's plan was better. Braun concluded by expressing excitement for the growth at HYBE and potential collaborations with K-pop acts such as BTS singer Jungkook and groups NewJeans, Le Sserafim, Seventeen and many other new artists.
