--- description: Scooter Braun is at the center of media speculation following reports that Ariana Grande and Demi Lovato have parted ways with the manager title: Why Music Manager Scooter Braun Is in the Spotlight image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd574082a7c0f405f/698a3fc001168263a49835b1/scooter-braun.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [celebrities](/tag/celebrities/) ## celebrities Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Why Music Manager Scooter Braun Is at the Center of a Media Storm  by [Mariah Espada](/author/mariah-espada/)  ## Mariah Espada Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 22, 2023 10:19 PM CUT  Scooter Braun attends the red carpet premiere for season 2 of FXX, FX, and Hulu's "Dave" on June 10, 2021 in Los Angeles, California Scooter Braun attends the red carpet premiere for season 2 of FXX, FX, and Hulu's "Dave" on June 10, 2021 in Los Angeles, CaliforniaEmma McIntyre—Getty Images  by [Mariah Espada](/author/mariah-espada/)  ## Mariah Espada Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 22, 2023 10:19 PM CUT Music entrepreneur [Scooter Braun](https://time.com/6291730/speak-now-better-than-revenge-lyrics/ "undefined") is in the spotlight following [recent reports](https://twitter.com/MattBelloni/status/1693764256666390566 "undefined") that some of his largest clients, including singers Ariana Grande and Demi Lovato, have [parted ways with the manager](https://www.billboard.com/pro/ariana-grande-leaves-scooter-braun-management/ "undefined"). SB Projects, Braun’s entertainment and marketing company, has not publicly confirmed or addressed the reports, though on Tuesday, Braun did tweet in jest, using the same format as previous tweets reporting former clients’ splits from him: “Breaking news… I’m no longer managing myself,” acknowledging the frenzy. > [](https://twitter.com/scooterbraun/status/1694054822281125962) SB Projects did not respond to TIME’s request for comment. Representatives for Grande and Lovato did not respond to requests for comment on whether they had parted ways with Braun. Braun, 42, is most well-known for managing a range of high-level artists—his catalog has included Kanye West, whom he parted ways with in 2018, Carly Rae Jepsen, The Black Eyed Peas, Asher Roth, and Dan + Shay. He managed the singer J Balvin, who left Braun in May, as well as star Idina Menzel, who [reportedly cut ties with Braun in January](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/music-news/idina-menzel-no-longer-being-managed-scooter-braun-1235572089/?utm%5Fsource=twitter&utm%5Fmedium=social "undefined"). He’s also CEO of HYBE America, the U.S. division of the South Korean music company behind K-Pop sensation BTS. ### More From TIME Braun’s most publicly known client relationship is with Justin Bieber, whom he discovered when Bieber was a teenager in Ontario, Canada posting R&B covers on YouTube. Under Braun’s management, Bieber signed to Def Jam Records through Raymond Braun Media Group, a joint venture between Braun and Usher. Claims that Bieber had left Braun in a report last week in Puck News were [denied](https://www.stereogum.com/2233813/ariana-grande-demi-lovato-justin-bieber-denies-report-hes-leaving-too/news/ "undefined") by representatives for both Bruan and the singer. Braun began making his name in the music industry in the early 2000s, after dropping out of college and connecting with music mogul Jermaine Dupri, eventually becoming head of marketing at Dupri’s Atlanta-based label So So Def. In 2007, Braun launched SB Projects. He’s become the rare executive within the music industry to become a known name outside the field; in 2013, he was [named to the TIME100](http://pollock "undefined"). In 2019, Braun became involved in a public feud with Taylor Swift after he purchased Big Machine Records, the label that owns the original recordings of Swift’s first six projects. Swift took to [Tumblr](https://taylorswift.tumblr.com/post/185958366550/for-years-i-asked-pleaded-for-a-chance-to-own-my "undefined") to explain her contentious relationship with Braun. In 2022 Braun [called](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A06LIaoTamM&t=1s "undefined") the feud “a learning lesson” on the NPR _The Limits With Jay Williams_ podcast. “All I could think about was the incessant, manipulative bullying I’ve received at his \[Braun’s\] hands for years… Never in my worst nightmares did I imagine the buyer would be Scooter,” Swift wrote in response in the post. “Any time Scott Borchetta (CEO of Big Machine Records) has heard the words ‘Scooter Braun’ escape my lips, it was when I was either crying or trying not to.” Swift is now well into her effort to [re-record her back catalog](https://time.com/6292599/taylor-swift-speak-now-rerecord-project/ "undefined"). Braun’s spat with Swift turned him into a controversial figure in an industry where reputation means everything and rumors often run rampant. Right now, beyond Braun’s semi-cryptic tweet, it’s hard to know what’s actually happening with the stars he manages. A _Variety_ piece published earlier on Tuesday offers two sides of the coin: Amid the speculation, some sources tell [Variety](https://variety.com/2023/music/news/scooter-braun-justin-bieber-ariana-grande-management-1235702184/ "undefined") that clients like Grande aren’t leaving Braun, but that instead he’s “continuing to step back from day-to-day management to focus on his role as CEO of HYBE America.” Other sources, similar to a [2022 Insider report](https://www.businessinsider.com/scooter-braun-profile-manager-bieber-ariana-grande-kanye-taylor-swift-2022-2https://www.businessinsider.com/scooter-braun-profile-manager-bieber-ariana-grande-kanye-taylor-swift-2022-2 "undefined"), insinuate not everything is what meets the eye when it comes to Braun. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6307353/scooter-braun-ariana-grande-demi-lovato-manage/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6307353/scooter-braun-ariana-grande-demi-lovato-manage/"},"headline":"Why Music Manager Scooter Braun Is at the Center of a Media Storm","datePublished":"2023-08-22T22:19:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T16:18:58.300Z","description":"Scooter Braun is at the center of media speculation following reports that Ariana Grande and Demi Lovato have parted ways with the manager","url":"https://time.com/6307353/scooter-braun-ariana-grande-demi-lovato-manage/","keywords":["celebrities","culturepod"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd574082a7c0f405f/698a3fc001168263a49835b1/scooter-braun.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mariah Espada","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/mariah-espada/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd574082a7c0f405f/698a3fc001168263a49835b1/scooter-braun.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"FXX, FX And Hulu's Season 2 Red Carpet Premiere Of \"Dave\"","caption":"FXX, FX And Hulu's Season 2 Red Carpet Premiere Of \"Dave\"","creditText":"Emma McIntyre—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/celebrities/","name":"celebrities"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6307353/scooter-braun-ariana-grande-demi-lovato-manage/","name":"Why Music Manager Scooter Braun Is at the Center of a Media Storm"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"How Fans Got Tickets to Taylor Swift's Record Breaking MetLife Stadium Shows","description":"Taylor Swift played three shows at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey over Memorial Day weekend, breaking the stadium's attendance record with an audience of 217,625 over three nights. 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