Last Friday, Puck reported that Justin Bieber and his longtime manager Scooter Braun had not spoken in months and that they were heading for a split. Page Six jumped on the bandwagon and claimed that Justin is doing a larger overhaul of his team and his wife Hailey is involved with the rebrand and new management. I thought the whole thing was curious, especially since Braun hasn’t seemed too involved in the daily management of his clients in the past few years. Braun has moved on to bigger and better things – he’s the sole CEO of HYBE and currently rolling with the billionaire class and regularly vacationing with Jeff Bezos. Perhaps he doesn’t have time for the daily management of his roster of A-list clients. Speaking of. Demi Lovato and Ariana Grande have apparently both split with Braun as well:
Demi Lovato is seeking new management after splitting with manager Scooter Braun last month, sources tell Billboard. Lovato signed with Braun and his SB Projects firm in 2019. She was previously managed by Phil McIntyre of PhilyMack.
One source close to the situation says it was time for Lovato to go in a new direction, even though she was thankful for her time with SB Projects. She does not yet have new management, though conversations are taking place. Reps for Lovato and Braun declined to comment.
Demi is back to using she/her pronouns, in case you’re worried that Billboard used the wrong ones. Here’s the Ariana piece:
Ariana Grande has dropped her longtime manager, Scooter Braun, Billboard reported Monday. The singer’s decision to sever professional ties with Braun and his company, SB Projects, comes 10 years after she first signed on.
Grande’s musical career kicked off in 2013 with the release of her debut album, “Yours Truly.” Since then, she has released five more albums. However, after the reports surfaced, a source told Page Six that Braun and Grande are currently working together.
Page Six has also reached out to both of their reps for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Grande’s alleged separation from Braun may come as a shock as the singer, 30, recently announced via Instagram that she was releasing a deluxe 10th-anniversary edition of “Yours Truly” on Aug. 25.
True story – with all of the drama around Ariana’s affair with Ethan Slater, I kept wondering what the hell her management was doing and who was actually trying to roll out that relationship two seconds after Ariana announced her divorce. Maybe this is the answer – Ariana was on the outs with Braun and so she had a crack team of incompetent fools telling her “yas queen” when she went on a briefing war against her married lover’s WIFE. That’s the thing about Scooter Braun as well – it wasn’t just career management, he was known for taking on “difficult” clients who needed a lot of hand-holding and personal-crisis management.
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- LOS ANGELES, CA – MAY 18: Scooter Braun (R) and Yael Cohen Braun attend the MOCA Benefit 2019 at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA on May 18, 2019 in Los Angeles, California.(PCN): +1 310.822.0419 UK Office (Photoshot): +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Photograph: © Joe Sutter/PacificCoastNews. Los Angeles Office (PCN): +1 310.822.0419 UK Office (Avalon): +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 sales@pacificcoastnews.com,Image: 512177262, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – Los Angeles Office (PCN): +1 310.822.0419 UK Office (Avalon): +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 sales@pacificcoastnews.com, Model Release: no, Credit line: Joe Sutter/PacificCoastNews / Avalon
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- 62nd Annual GRAMMY Awards Arrivals 2020 held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles California. Featuring: Ariana Grande Where: Los Angeles, California, United States When: 26 Jan 2020 **ONLY AVAILABLE FOR SPAIN & USA**,Image: 563134083, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: USA and SPAIN DIRECT SALES ONLY – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: WENN / Wenn / Avalon
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- West Hollywood, CA – Record Executive, Scooter Braun steps out for a night of partying Delilah Nightclub in West Hollywood. Pictured: Scooter Braun BACKGRID USA 1 MARCH 2020 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Miami, FL – Demi Lovato attends the Boss fashion show in Miami, Florida. Pictured: Demi Lovato BACKGRID USA 15 MARCH 2023 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Miami, FL – Demi Lovato attends the Boss fashion show in Miami, Florida. Pictured: Demi Lovato BACKGRID USA 15 MARCH 2023 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- 62nd Annual GRAMMY Awards held at The Staples Center – Arrivals Featuring: Ariana Grande Where: Los Angeles, California, United States When: 26 Jan 2020 Credit: CF/Cover Images
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- -New York, NY – 20181206 – Billboard’s 13th Annual Women in Music, at Pier 36 -PICTURED: Ariana Grande -PHOTO by: JOHN NACION/startraksphoto.com This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact Startraks Photo for licensing fee and rights information at sales@startraksphoto.com or call +1 212 414 9464 This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. Startraks Photo reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded Featuring: Ariana Grande Where: New York, New York, United States When: 06 Dec 2018 Credit: JOHN NACION/startraksphoto.com
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- -Los Angeles, CA – 01/26/2020 62nd Annual GRAMMY Awards – Red Carpet -PICTURED: Ariana Grande -PHOTO by: Startraksphoto.com -SRK_83312 Startraks Photo New York, NY For licensing please call 212-414-9464 or email sales@startraksphoto.com Featuring: Ariana Grande Where: Los Angeles, California, United States When: 26 Jan 2020 Credit: Startraksphoto.com
I do feel like Scooter hasn’t been giving them the attention they need. Demi, Ariana and Bieber are big names and their latest albums weren’t huge.
That, or he’s stealing from them. Or they are getting ahead of a big scandal.
As Taylor would say, Karma will track you down.
Emily, Funny you mentioned Taylor. A couple of weeks ago Karlie Kloss was seen attending one of her concerts. https://www.celebitchy.com/628458/so_was_taylor_swift_karlie_klosss_falling_out_really_about_scooter_braun/
As to so many A-listers parting ways with Scooter around the same time? That sounds a lot more serious han Scooter not making time for them. I wonder what he’s done.
Ohhh I didn’t even think that Karlie also left him.
Scandal incoming!
I immediately thought it was interesting that Karlie went to Taylor’s concert and this is coming out a week later.
if it were simply that he’s not doing management anymore, they would just come out and say that. them all dropping him at the same time but no one’s reps talking, etc, implies there’s more going on.
I hope so! we could use a good Summer Scandal!
Like Kaiser references in the post, he has other businesses he’s attending to. Also, karma WILL track you down. Even Taylor.
Ugh, as a huge BTS fan (BTS is the band that single handedly built HYBE), I had huge concerns about Scooter Braun taking over the helm, given his dodgy track record with Taylor Swift is exactly the kind of thing Bang PD, HYBE’s (and BTS’) founder eschewed in the music industry.
And Braun was all over Jungkook of BTS’ solo release, “Seven,” that dropped last month, and as much as I like the song (it is super catchy!), the video presents Jungkook as a stalker terrorizing a woman who is clearly telling him “no” – not a look any BTS member would have gone for before Braun got involved.
With all these other celebs jumping ship, something is clearly foul in the state of HYBE/Braun, and that sucks.
I wonder if they only knew what a powerhouse Braun was, and not what a d-bag he could be, bc the K-pop industry as a whole shies away from scandals like Braun leaves in his wake, and the HYBE/Braun connection was always a head-scratcher for me.
Well, Scooter has a ton of connections and knowledge on how the US music industry works. As wildly successful as BTS has been, there are still US gatekeepers trying to cock block them. Particularly when it comes to radio. And don’t get me started all the times Billboard changed their rules every time BTS or a member landed at number 1 on the Hot 100 with no radio play. I’m still pissed at what they did to Jimin.
As dirty as Scooter is, he still knows how to work the system. I hope Bang PD is milking him for all of the insider knowledge he can.
@Snuffles, I totally agree with the shitty gatekeeping in the US, esp. with radio plays and Billboard, which should just acknowledge at this point they rig their system to support their favorites (otherwise they wouldn’t have to keep changing the rules to knock BTS off their lists).
That said, as the comment thread below pointed out, Hitman Bang knew exactly what he was doing to subvert the system in SK, and I think he could have figured out a way to do that in the US, or figured out a different US player to partner with, rather than get in bed with someone with as abusive and dodgy a reputation as Braun.
While I wish the best for BTS and would love for their presence on US radio and in metrics like Billboard charts and the Grammy awards to more accurately reflect a) their talent and b) the size and scope of the people listening to, and purchasing their music, I also firmly believe they could achieve that themselves (though it is taking longer than it should because of all the racist gatekeeping), or with a better partner than Braun.
HYBE/Bang Si Hyuk didn’t have to pick an asshole, which is so off-brand for BTS, Big Hit & HYBE.
(I hope JK in particular, since Braun seems to be attaching his future success/trajectory to JK, gets out of that relationship with Braun quickly and unscathed!)
I agree with you completely, Snuffles, about how Billboard kept changing the rules. It is ridiculous at this point.
They want other countries to fully embrace American music, but the moment someone from Asia comes along that is consistently popular (and they can’t write off as a one hit wonder, like Psy) they gatekeep.
BTS ticket sales are enormous in multiple continents, way more than that of almost anyone else.
That says a lot.
I too am a huge BTS fan. So, in the interest of accuracy — Braun is the CEO of HYBE America, a subsidiary of HYBE Co., Ltd. of S. Korea. Park Ji-won is the CEO of the parent company HYBE Co. and Bang Si Hyuk is the HYBE Chairman of the Board and President of Big Hit Entertainment, the agency to which BTS is signed. HYBE acquired Brauns operation for its business assets. In the same way, HYBE tried to buy SM Entertainment one of the S. Korean big 3 Kpop companies. They did not succeed in that purchase but did kill a threat to Weverse, the HYBE internet platform. I doubt that Chairman Bang or any member of BTS will just give themselves over to the tender mercies of Mr. Braun. As for JK’s Seven MV, I loved it! Seven is a summer jam and a comic over-the-top rom-com MV.
I love Seven as well.
Latto is great in it too.
It is about the least serious MV I have ever seen 😀
@Anna Luc, 100% agree on both the business comments and the song and video comments.
I am grossed out by Scooter getting anywhere near the members of BTS, but I trust them to be in control of their Chapter 2 activities.
With that said, it would make me very very happy to see Scooter out at HYBE America.
Supposedly Justin Bieber left him as well. I’m hearing rumblings that something big is about to drop on Scooter. Something possibly related to how he manages or mismanages finances.
Is it the white collar crimes Taylor Swift tipped to the FBI?
Olivia, I’m sorry, what white collar crimes did Taylor report to the FBI?!
@Olivia, I didn’t think Taylor was serious. But maybe….
*gets popcorn*
@ML one of her songs that is generally believed to be about Scooter says:
While he was doing lines
And crossing all of mine
Someone told his white collar crimes to the FBI
OOOOH Olivia YES I wonder!
@ML it’s a lyric from one of her songs. Vigilante Sh*t
Thanks, Kate and Abby for the clarification!
Was there a new brat pack I didn’t know about? Because the mention of these three “singers” together, all in one article?…Yeah, Scooter surely swooped in early to rep petulant, self-important, mediocre, image-obsessed, yet mainstream, youthfully palatable whiners. Maybe he’s finally firing them.
Or maybe he’s wrung them dry and is moving on to something fresh to squeeze. I still believe Justin is burnt out. Demi is battling a lot of issues. Ariana’s personal life it a hot mess.
Not to say that their careers are over. They’re all still extraordinarily talented if not problematic. They’re all pushing 30 and probably at a lot of personal and career crossroads.
Child stars who were overworked, not allowed to have childhoods, sucked dry and then had subsequent behavioural and mental health problems.
If he really cared about them he would have prioritised their mental health and not squeezing as much out of them as possible when they were so young. He also would have gotten them business and finance training.
These clients are products and money-makers to him and nothing more.
I may critique their choices as adults; but I feel genuinely sad for anyone who was a child star like this. I remember reading a profile of Bieber when he was a young teen and he was so clearly being overworked and exploited. I remember thinking he would probably end up like Britney – suddenly realising he was in charge, partying too much, spending crazily, and then having mental health issues. All while the press dragged him for flaming out. I was (very sadly) right.
Yea even though he went though a period where he was a real jerk I always felt bad for him. Nobody including his parents would tell him no. I think Hailey has actually been a very grounding force and she seems to know how to make smart decisions for them.
Say what you want about Ariana Grande as a person but calling her talent “mediocre” is … a choice. I saw her live on one of her tours (we won tickets thru my partner’s work, I wasn’t a fan particularly, but was familiar with her name). She sang a Whitney Houston song so well that the whole stadium basically erupted into thunderous applause for what felt like five minutes afterwards. I’ve never seen anything like it. Her voice blew me away.
Just a clarification he’s the CEO of HYBE AMERICA. Which is a subsidiary of HYBE Corporation which is still very much run by its Korean founder.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybe_Corporation
That’s said, it looks like Scooter is going all in with HYBE. I think I heard rumors of him putting together an American based KPop group.
I have a question for the more business minded people here. HYBE Corporation bought Scooter’s Ithaca Holdings 2 years ago. At the time boasting a roster of some of the biggest pop stars in the world. Now they’re purportedly leaving. Will Ithaca Holdings be worthless now if it loses its roster?
Right now, everyone involved and their lawyers are keeping their mouth shut for a reason. everyone is trying to get a deal that’s good for them. Ithaca holdings had a lot of businesses under its umbrella (like e.g BIG Machine Records) and was sold for 1 billion to HYBE. The old Ithaca Holding merged with HYBE, so, it really depends on how it’s currently structured and folded within HYBE. Who owns what, how much, who has which copyrights and masters etc. I suspect Ithaca holding has been completely submerged within Hybe America or has enough assets to not bankrupt or become worthless. But they will of course be hit really hard if those artists are really leaving.
I once worked for a financial company that held the funds for these kinds of deals. What little I think I know is that the payout is structured over time. In this way, an owner who is now an employee is incentivized to continue to manage the business competently; the final sale price paid may also be tied to performance goals. I would guess that there may be penalties and escape clauses in place if company B financially misrepresented itself to the buyer or participated in activities prior to the sale that resulted in criminal or civil legal action.
He’s definitely giving Jungkook a lot of his attention and probably his old clients none at all.
This is some of the best celebrity goss we’ve had in a while. *sittin back to sip my tea*
He’s the sole CEO of HYBE America only.
Park Ji-won is the CEO of HYBE.
Bang Si-hyuk is the chairman.
Unlike many other Kpop groups, BTS started with a small company that was almost bankrupt. They had very little clout in the beginning and there are many stories of how they were being treated badly (not by the company but by the Korean entertainment industry, which was used to only give chances to groups and artists from the Big 3 companies).
Just thought I should put that out there, as people in the West sometimes assume they must be from some big corporate machine, while they actually made their label big.
It is now more common for groups from smaller companies to have hits, but it was less so when BTS started out 10 years ago.
Yes BTS totally built HYBE, have a ton of stock in the company and are all billionaires for it.
I think if BTS became the international success that they did it’s because their scrappy upstart image resonated with people. They just seemed more authentic and they truly had personal chemistry between them. No one in the S Korean entertainment industry would have bet that they would breakout to become the most internationally famous K-pop group ever.
Exactly. Well said.
I love the chemistry between them and the many funny videos. Also, it helped that they had more freedom to write/produce their own music than many other Kpop groups.
And interestingly enough, American fans were there from the start, recommending their music, buying tickets and music.
I remember J-Hope saying in 2014 he was surprised he was recognized in the USA while they were not yet in Korea.
BTS members often did live videos of them having fun or talking to fans when that was not yet such a common thing and helped build a fanbase in that low-cost but effective way.
BTS very much thank their success to the fans, who have supported them in so many ways and far less to some rich corporate players (either Korean or foreign) pushing them by spending money.
Bang PD is a billionaire. The boys are just millionaires.
And, yes, they were scrappy upstarts. What I admire about them is even though they were underdogs and treated like shit in the industry early on, Bang PD found clever ways to get around that and reach the fans directly. Vlogging on YouTube, doing lives, etc. Creating their own variety show when Korea’s variety shows treated them like dirt or wouldn’t even have them on. Or cut them.
I’m just amazed at how the boys held on and were incredibly self directed. I give a HUGE amount of credit to Namjoon, the leader of all leaders. The rest of the group does too. Can you tell I read their new biography.
I didn’t know there were more BTS fans here!
I like Jin most but love them all.
Can’t wait for him to be back from the military
@Snuffles, agree with you about Namjoon.
So much pressure on him on such an early age as the group’s leader.
Not just being part of the group and producing, but also being the spokesperson, having to translate often as he was best at English etc.
Big compliments to him.
And yes, they were very badly treated. The Jungkook hamburger incident still makes me sad, even though it was not even the worst of it. He was so young and trying to be respectful to those older guys in the industry by buying food for them and they treated him like dirt.
Joke is on them, because his song Seven has been number 1 on the Global top 200 for five weeks now.
@snuffles
Namjoon has a ton of writing/producing credits and is probably a billionaire if you count his stocks and real estate though they all invested wisely though.
And you are correct RM definitely was a huge key to their success and yet he never hogged the spotlight making sure each member got to speak during interviews, award shows etc… I think he truly believed in them. And they believed in him like Jungkook who had offers from other agencies but choose BTS because he idolized RM. Bang played a rather mean practical joke on Joonie when they first started asking him to choose between a solo career or BTS and he of course chose BTS.
I think the moment they really got discovered was their first KCON in LA. They were a lesser known group from a no name agency and they killed it and charmed the pants off of everyone. People were loosing their sh*t!
My favorite interview quote is when Jin complains “I have no friends” and Namjoon says “What? We’re your friends” and Jin says “you’re not my friends, you’re my family” 😭
At the end of the day I just hope for their happiness and hope this break gives them the freedom to live their lives more fully. Namjoon in particular just seemed so burnt out by the added stress of being the leader. He told Pharrell in that Rolling Stone article that he didn’t even know if music was his thing anymore. I absolutely adore his IG where he regularly features Korean and International artists. He has a massive art collection which also adds to his net worth.
But my bias is V btw. People who don’t believe he is dating Jennie from BlackPink are totally delusional. And if BlackPink broke out internationally I think because like BTS they were different. They (esp.Jennie and Lisa) have bad b*tch energy and not the typical cutesy cutesy vibe of most girl kpop groups.
Namjoon will be fine, music wise. He’s already hinting at more solo work.
One of his strengths is that he always complimented the other members a lot and cared a lot about the younger ones especially.
Props to Jin as well, who took care of JK a lot, and actually the whole hyung-line for being like that.
When I see “he was known for taking on “difficult” clients who needed a lot of hand-holding and personal-crisis management” what I’m really hearing is “he was known for taking on vulnerable clients that he could more easily control and take advantage of.” He’s a predatory slimeball.
You called it, @whatever.
Yeah that’s sure what this is sounding like…
Yeah I would not categorize Ariana as “vulnerable”. She was very much an entitled and difficult brat which I highly doubt has changed much.
Notice the language “they are still working together” which doesn’t mean they will be for long, it just means the contract hasn’t run out yet. They didn’t resign with him but they may still have some time left on the contract. It’s noteworthy that they are leaving without new representation, which to me sounds like it was done pretty fast.
There’s something going on!! I hope Celebitchy sleuths find out what it is!