Scooter Braun, who famously stole Taylor Swifts music catalog out from under her, says he’s retiring from the industry. At least from managing other peoples careers.
Scooter was the manager to such mega stars as Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Demi Lovato and Dan and Shay. But it’s time to hang up the wireless headset.
Braun shared the news in a lengthy Instagram statement, beginning with a memory of his first time managing an artist, Cato, in Atlanta at age 19. “Along the way I have had so many experiences I could never have dreamt of,” he wrote.
“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. 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,” said Braun.
“It’s a strange feeling because I think I have wanted this for a while, but I was truly afraid to answer the question ‘who would I be without them?’ I was really just 19 years old when I started. So for my entire adult life I played the role of an artist manager on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” he continued. “And for 20 years I loved it. It’s all I had known.”
“But as my children got older, and my personal life took some hits, I came to the realization that my kids were 3 superstars I wasn’t willing to lose,” wrote the father of three, who shares sons Levi and Jagger as well as daughter Hart with ex-wife Yael Cohen. (Braun filed for divorce from Cohen in July 2021, and it was finalized in September 2022.)
Good riddance.