celebrity news

Taylor Swift’s former record label responds to star’s ‘blocked’ songs claim



Taylor Swift’s former record label has hit back at the star’s explosive claims they are refusing to let her perform tracks from her back catalogue at the American Music Awards. 

The 29-year-old is due to be honoured at the event later this month and on Friday morning, claimed Big Machine Label Group (BMLG) and Scooter Braun will not “allow” her to sing the songs as part of a medley. 

Borchetta founded BMLG, which signed Swift as a teenager.

Earlier this year it emerged Braun, who manages high-profile pop stars including Justin Bieber, had acquired Swift’s back catalogue.

Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta (pictured in May 2018) (Rick Diamond/Getty Images)

In a strongly-worded statement posted on numerous social platforms, she said: “The message being sent to me is very clear. Basically, be a good little girl and shut up. Or you’ll be punished. This is WRONG. 

“Neither of these men had a hand in the writing of those songs. They did nothing to create the relationship I have with my fans.”

Swift then called on her fans and other artists for support. 

In a statement shared on Friday afternoon, Big Machine Label Group said they were “shocked” to see her claims “based on false information.” 

“At no point did we say Taylor could not perform on the AMAs or block her Netflix special. In fact, we do not have the right to keep her from performing live anywhere,” they continued.

“Since Taylor’s decision to leave Big Machine last fall, we have continued to honor all of her requests to license her catalog to third parties as she promotes her current record in which we do not financially participate.” 

While clarifying that Swift is free to perform at the event, the statement does not directly address her claim that they will not “allow” her to perform old tracks. 

The statement goes on to reveal that the label and Swift have been in talks during “the past two weeks.” 

“Despite our persistent efforts to find a private and mutually satisfactory solution, Taylor made a unilateral decision last night to enlist her fanbase in a calculated manner that greatly affects the safety of our employees and their families,” they say. “Taylor, the narrative you have created does not exist. 

“All we ask is to have a direct and honest conversation. When that happens, you will see there is nothing but respect, kindness and support waiting for you on the other side.” 

The statement concludes by claiming “not one of the invitations to speak with us and work through this has been accepted.” 

Read the full statement here

When contacted by Standard Online, a spokeswoman for Swift said: “To avoid an argument over rights, Taylor performed three songs off her new album Lover at the Double Eleven event as it was clear that Big Machine Label Group felt any televised performance of catalog songs violated her agreement. 

“In addition, yesterday Scott Borchetta, CEO and founder of Big Machine Label Group, flatly denied the request for both American Music Awards and Netflix.” 

Pointing out that “in Big Machine’s statement, they never actually deny either claim Taylor said last night in her post”, they continued: “Lastly, Big Machine is trying to deflect and make this about money by saying she owes them but, an independent, professional auditor has determined that Big Machine owes Taylor $7.9 million dollars of unpaid royalties over several years.”

The spokeswoman added that “BMLG will not agree to issue licenses for existing recordings or waivers of its re-recording restrictions in connection with these two projects: The Netflix documentary and The Alibaba ‘Double Eleven’ event.”

The Alibaba event was held last weekend and is run by the Chinese e-commerce giant of the same name. 

The day is a shopping festival and Swift performed as part of the launch.

Standard Online has approached BMLG for further comment. 



READ SOURCE

Leave a Reply

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you accept our use of cookies.