Scooter’s list of mismanagement is quite extensive, however, most of this information is locked behind closed doors and iron-clad NDAs. He’s known as Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande’s manager, but he has dropped the ball on several budding artists including:
Madison Beer
Beer was managed by Scooter from 2013 to 2021. When speaking about her time under Scooter’s management, she said that he was the “‘Oh, you don’t have a say, you don’t know what you’re talking about, little girl’ variety.” Beer was thrust into the industry and forced to maintain a specific image that she didn’t sign up for. She also did not get enough support for “Reckless”, stating that she had to cover the cost of production for the music video. Eventually, she went independent to take control of her career
In regards to being dropped by Scooter at the age of 16, she said, “I literally had everything taken from me.”
“I did everything you asked
And you promised you would help me
We shook hands on it”
“Let me explain something to you kid
Well a handshake don't mean nothing
Only proves that you got hands
And yeah, you got that special something
You got moves but he's got fans”
Hall was another former client of Scooter and has claimed that Scooter didn’t take his musical aspirations seriously enough due to his race and sexual orientation. In an interview with Buzzfeed News, he pointed out that Scooter generally doesn’t represent people of color and if he did, they would have to be at the height of their careers for him to care.
When Todrick released Straight Outta Oz, the singer claimed he was threatened by Scooter to be removed from YouTube for the unflattering references to him in the visual film. Additionally, Scooter tried to take an executive producer credit for the album and film, despite not working on it in any capacity
CL, K-Pop artist and leader of K-Pop idol group, 2NE1, signed onto Scooter’s label in November 2014. The number of projects she’s completed since then is much less compared to her career prior, corroborating Todrick Hall’s statement regarding Scooter’s behaviors towards POC artists
In a variety show segment, Livin’ the Double Life, Scooter implied that CL was not fully committed to her career, leading to the halt in her promotional activities that were happening in the U.S., despite CL “making 200 songs” for her solo album at the time. He also cited 2NE1 as the reason for CL’s solo career being put on hold, due to their tour schedule and other commitments. This insinuation was harmful to CL’s image as the leader of 2NE1 because it fueled the fandom’s (Blackjack) belief that CL abandoned her group to pursue her solo career, when in reality she intended to do both. As a result, her solo career was met with heavy opposition from the fans.
According to a fan’s DM shared on Twitter (now deleted), CL was no longer under Scooter’s management in 2018 after she left her K-Pop label, YG Entertainment, and has been an independent artist as of 2021.
Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber and Kanye West – is often talked about within their fandom circles. However, we have done our best to compile information that is verified and from the artists themselves:
Additionally, Scooter was well known within Justin’s fanbase circles as the person one could connect with to get closer to Justin Bieber. As a result of this, there have been multiple allegations of Scooter using underaged fans to do his work over the years, including a (now-privated) thread by an anonymous Belieber at the time.
Ariana Grande
& Justin Bieber
During her interview with Zach Sang to promote “thank u, next,” Grande mentioned that she “was literally begging Scooter Braun to take (ghostin’) off” of the album, but he pressured her to keep it on, stating, “You’re thinking too hard now. This is special, and you should share it with everybody.”
For context, “ghostin’” is a track dedicated to the late Mac Miller who passed away from a fentanyl overdose in 2018. Grande and Miller had dated in the past and were known to have a very close relationship at the time.
Scooter was also known to have a really good grip on Justin Bieber during his entire career. According to a profile done by The Jewish Chronicle, Braun was seen as a “Jewish father figure” to Justin. In fact, Justin regularly joined Scooter and musical director Dan Kanter in reciting the “Shema” prayer before a concert.
When Justin hosted SNL in 2013, Scooter had forced him to go on an all-eggs diet to get “swole.” Justin got so sick that he was unable to make customary rounds to greet the SNL writers.
Additionally, Scooter was well known within Justin’s fanbase circles as the person one could connect with to get closer to Justin Bieber. As a result of this, there have been multiple allegations of Scooter using underaged fans to do his work over the years, including a (now-privated) thread by an anonymous Belieber at the time.
Braun as CEO of
HYBE America
Following HYBE’s acquisition of Ithaca Holdings in 2021, Scooter Braun has been designated as the CEO of HYBE America since January 2023. Before this, Scooter was relatively very interested in BTS, stating that he had been “watching BTS from a distance.”
When Bang PD was honored with Billboard’s Clive Davis Visionary Award at Billboard Power 100 Party in 2023, Scooter addressed Bang as “his brother from across the ocean,” stating that the deal to purchase Ithaca Holdings was more than a transaction, but a merging of ideas and dreams.
Bang Si Hyuk, the current chairman of HYBE, has great fondness for Scooter Braun. In a profile feature for Billboard, he stated, “The best thing about Scooter and I working together is that we don’t need a lot of words to describe our mutual trust. Even though he and I have built our careers on different continents, our visions for the future, our attitudes toward artists and our philosophies on life are so similar that sometimes we get things done through trust, even beyond language barriers.”
When speaking on Scooter’s ever-growing influence at HYBE America, Bang says, “Scooter is leading HYBE’s U.S. business, and I trust him so much that I’m happy to meet with the people recommended by him.”
According to Variety, Bang PD believes that Scooter and his team’s attitude towards the industry “aligns impeccably with HYBE’s mission and values.”
In a March 2023 press conference, Bang PD has “stressed that the company’s rebound strategy depends heavily on Braun,” suggesting that Scooter’s role in the company will increase. This strategy was in reference to declining global profits for HYBE, as BTS, their biggest group and asset, are currently serving in the military due to South Korea’s mandatory enlistment laws.
zionist
list
cont...
At the time of this exposé being written, the upcoming J-Hope release, Hope on the Street, will feature Zionist artists including Benny Blanco and Israeli singer and producer, Omer Fedi.
The concerns do not stop there. In early June 2022, Scooter Braun allegedly sold $14.15 million worth of shares during off-hours trading. It’s speculated that the sale was done before BTS’ official announcement of a group hiatus and mandatory military enlistment.
In regards to Scooter’s remarks about the Gaza genocide, HYBE has distanced themselves from Braun, stating, "It is a personal statement that is separate from company management."
At the time of this exposé being written, there has been no comment from HYBE on the recent ARMY 4 Palestine truck protest or the upcoming in-person HYBE America headquarters protest.
However, with all of these past statements, we are led to believe that Bang PD & team do not care due to their strong connection with Scooter, along with their shared values and goals.
Many have wondered how much influence Scooter has over HYBE in Korea. Since the merger, Scooter Braun has been credited in a substantial amount of HYBE Korea’s recent projects including: all BTS releases since Proof, Enhypen’s Dark Blood and Orange Blood, as well as TXT’s Freefall according to fan sources.
More specifically, BTS’ youngest member Jungkook’s debut solo album Golden had Scooter credited under A&R, a division in a music label that identifies new and upcoming talent. The album had featured artists who are pro-Israel, including Usher and Justin Timberlake. A backup dancer during Golden promotions was also revealed to be a pro-Israel supporter, leading to petitions online for his removal
When speaking on Scooter’s role in Golden, Bang said, “Scooter’s involvement was significant to the extent that if he was not involved in this project, it would have been very difficult to release this album.” He also stated that this demonstrated how HYBE and HYBE America can collaborate, answering many people’s questions on whether the two would work on projects together and how closely.
Braun as CEO of HYBE America
RESPONSE TO ALLEGATIONS
According to Marty Singer, Scooter’s lawyer, Scooter "never lost or dropped an artist until they had spent a substantial amount of time, had incurred substantial losses, and he and the artist felt there was nothing more they could do together."
Most information in regards to how he treated his biggest and most well-known clients, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber and Kanye West are talked about amongst their fandom circles. However, we are going to try our best to compile information that is verified and from the artists themselves:
