What a s**t storm to wake up to on this glorious Friday!
Variety is now reporting Big Machine Records, aka Scott Borchetta and his partner Scooter Braun, have issued a lengthy statement, basically denying several key items Taylor Swift spoke out about on Tumblr yesterday!
WHAT THE F**K??
In case you need a quick catch up, BMR owns the masters of Tay’s first SIX albums. In her statement on Thursday, Swift explained Borchetta and Braun claimed playing her old songs on TV (at the AMAs where she’s set to receive Artist of the Decade honors later this month) would technically be “re-recording” her music, which she’s not allowed to do until next year.
Related: Taylor Swift Christmas Music In The Works??
The superstar artist said they are also prohibiting her from using older music and performance footage in an upcoming Netflix documentary about her life. AND they’ll only let her use the tunes on TWO conditions: if she does NOT “re-record copycat versions of [her] songs next year” and promises to stop speaking about them moving forward!
Alexa, play The Man by Taylor Swift.
Ok, now back to the “men” speaking out. Here’s what they’ve got to say:
“As Taylor Swift’s partner for over a decade, we were shocked to see her Tumblr statements yesterday 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. 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.”
They continued:
“The truth is, Taylor has admitted to contractually owing millions of dollars and multiple assets to our company, which is responsible for 120 hardworking employees who helped build her career. We have worked diligently to have a conversation about these matters with Taylor and her team to productively move forward. We started to see progress over the past two weeks and were optimistic as recently as yesterday that this may get resolved. However, 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.”
Finishing up, the statement reads:
“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. To date, not one of the invitations to speak with us and work through this has been accepted. Rumors fester in the absence of communication. Let’s not have that continue here. We share the collective goal of giving your fans the entertainment they both want and deserve.”
WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!
Taylor’s reps have yet to speak out, but we’ll be bringing you that info as soon as it drops!
What’s interesting here is that this isn’t a flat out denial of everything Swift stated. Sure, they didn’t block her from performing at the American Music Awards — but they also do not directly mention anything about the old songs. Seems extremely calculated and icky to us!
What do you make of all this, Perezcious readers?? SOUND OFF in the comments (below)! And as if you didn’t figure it out already — #WeStandWithTaylor!
[Image via Instar/WENN]
The post Big Machine Records Responds To Taylor Swift’s Claims Of Blocking Music Use: ‘The Narrative You Have Created Does Not Exist’ appeared first on Perez Hilton.