Battle lines are beginning to be drawn on the feud between Taylor Swift and her ex-record label for the rights to her masters. Get ready for a wild ride kids, this entire situation is complicated with a capital C.
On one side, Swift has seen an outpouring of support, with many celebrities such as Selena Gomez, Gigi Hadid, Halsey and US Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez rallying behind her, the hashtag #IStandWithTaylor trending worldwide on Twitter and over 106,000 fans (and counting) signing a petition to ‘Let Taylor Swift perform/use HER art’. On the other, Justin Bieber has taken it upon himself to throw his own towel into the ring, supporting Scooter Braun, his manager and friend.
On Thursday, Swift took to Twitter to claim that Big Machine Records – her ex label with who she signed with aged 15 and which was brought by Braun over the summer, a sale which gave Braun the rights to her first six studio albums, much to Swift’s ire – would not let Swift perform her old hits at the American Music Awards. In the open letter titled ‘Don’t know what to do’, Swift revealed that she is due to receive Artist of the Decade at the American Music Awards next Sunday 24 and was planning to perform a medley of her hits from the past ten years, but a ban is being enforced by Braun and Borchetta. She also claims that they have vetoed any use of her pre-Lover catalogue in a Netflix documentary she has been working on for the past two years.
“I just want to be able to perform MY OWN music. That's it. I've tried to work out this out privately through my team but have not been able to resolve anything. Right now my performance at the AMAs, the Netflix documentary and any other recorded events I am planning to play until November 2020 are a question mark,” Swift writes in the statement.
On Friday, Bieber also took to social media in response to Swift’s claims, sharing a screenshot of a TMZ story covering Big Machine Records’ statement on the conflict who allege that they never forbid Swift from any of the things she has accused them of, that she owes “millions” and “multiple assets” to Big Machine.
As anyone who’s followed the long, complicated feud between Swift and Braun knows, Bieber has often involved himself. In 2016, during the period of Kanye West v Swift round two, Bieber not so subtly posted a screen shot of a FaceTime call between himself, West and Braun with the caption, “Taylor Swift what up”. It was an act that Swift chalked up to “the incessant, manipulative bullying” that Braun had put her to for years in her now famous Tumblr post announcing the sale (a sale she claimed not to have knowledge of); another claim Bieber refuted. “Neither Scooter or I have anything negative to say about you we truly want the best for you,” he claimed in July after rather backhandedly apologising for the 2016 post: “at the time I thought it was funny but looking back it was distasteful and insensitive.”
Bieber’s involvement comes as Swift’s fans call to see vocal support from the star’s male celebrity friends, namely Ed Sheeran and Shawn Mendes – musicians who have benefited hugely from their friendships with Swift, but who have remained silent when it comes to speaking out about Swift’s situation. Fans claim that these male celebrities are “cowards”, their public silence revealing a sharp disparity between the male and female experience.
In contrast, many female celebrities have spoken their support without fear. “I don’t mind if there may be retaliation,” Selena Gomez has stated.
“These people are protected because they inspire complicity with fear. Banking on the illusion that people will not stand up for her. That the world will say she is overreacting,” singer Halsey – one of Swift’s first celebrity supporters – said in an Instagram Story post on the situation.
Since Big Machine’s statement, Swift’s publicist Tree Paine has hit back, sharing a notice from Big Machine saying that the company would not issue licenses for Swift’s planned Netflix documentary and Swift’s Alibaba concert event in China that took place on November 11. Paine has also countered Big Machine’s claims, stating that in fact the company owes Swift $7.9 million in royalties according to an independent accounting.
With more receipts reportedly coming from Swift and her team, this feud doesn’t look like it will be over anytime soon, especially if Justin Bieber has anything to say about it – just watch this space.
READ MORE:
Taylor Swift Going To War With Scooter Braun Is Important For All Women
Lily Allen, Selena Gomez and Gigi Hadid show support for Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift Has No Time For Slut Shaming In The Music Industry