“It’s beautiful, raw, and truly him”: Scooter Braun applauds Justin Bieber’s ‘SWAG’ amid $30 million financial rift

Scooter Braun is lauding Justin Bieber's latest album, SWAG, just hours after they reached a $31.5 million settlement.

Braun and Bieber have been involved in a financial dispute for years, after the former and his company, HYBE, incurred the expenses of Bieber's canceled 2022 Justice World Tour. Cosmopolitan has reported that at the time, Bieber agreed to pay them back in installments, though he failed, only made one payment, and has yet to pay back the remaining $26 million.

Nonetheless, Scooter Braun is gushing over his former client, as he took to Instagram just one day after Justin Bieber's first album in four years came out:

“Been having a beautiful start to the weekend and been getting a lot of texts about how I feel about Justin’s new album.. so I will just leave this here.. This is without a doubt, the most authentically Justin Bieber album to date. It’s beautiful, raw, and truly him. And that matters.” He continued, “I’ve had the privilege of witnessing his growth for almost two decades. Along every journey, there comes a time when an artist fully steps into their own — and that’s what he’s done here. He’s poured his soul into this project, and you can feel it in every single run.”

He also declared his favorite track on the album to be Dasies, noting that Bieber’s tone is the “best in the world.”

Justin Bieber and Scooter Braun's relationship explored as the two end their 15-year working relationship

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Justin Bieber's 21-track album is his first in four years, with the last one being 2021’s Justice. The album looks at his personal life with wife Hailey Bieber, being a new father, and his mental health struggles. The artist's label, Def Jam, announced this Saturday that the album had scaled to the top position of both the U.S. Apple Music and Spotify album charts.

As for his settlement with Scooter Braun, according to Page Six, Bieber, whose net worth is about $300 million, is now expected to settle his debt over the various unpaid commissions in their time together of 15 years.

Back in 2022, Justin Bieber had sold his music catalog for $200 million, and this past May, news broke out that he was on the brink of “financial collapse.”

“Justin said, ‘I gotta sell it now.’ And he sold it in December. That’s how broke he was,” TMZ executive producer Harvey Levin said in the documentary, titled, “What Happened to Justin Bieber?”

Scooter Braun acknowledged the news at the time, per People Magazine, when he said:

"Justin is truly a once-in-a-generation artist and that is reflected and acknowledged by the magnitude of this deal."

A source also told the outlet at the time:

"He is facing a lot of different demons right now. He is making some really poor decisions lately, further impacting friendships, money, and business."

Just months later, Scooter Braun and Justin Bieber reportedly ended their working bond. People broke the news in August 2023 that they hadn't spoken to each other in months, and that the singer was working on a new album without his former manager:

"Justin's been working on his new record for the last six months. Scooter and SB Projects have not set up one session or done one thing for this [new] record," a source said at the time. "The relationship with Scooter has run its course."

After a two-decade career, Scooter Braun announced in June 2024 that he would be retiring, though he maintained his position as the CEO of HYBE America. However, just this month, the company said in a statement that he is taking a step back and is now a consultant for them.

In June, Scooter Braun sat down for an appearance on The Diary of a CEO podcast, where he got candid about what his bond with Justin Bieber is like now:

"I think these things go in ebbs and flows," he said at the time. "There comes a point where I understand he probably wants to go on and show that he can do it." "We worked together for so long and we had such extreme success, and I think you get to a point as a man where you want to show the world you can do it on your own," added Braun. "And I completely respect that. I think at this point, that’s what he’s doing. Myself and everyone from the old team is rooting for him."

He did, however, wish all of his former colleagues the best in life.

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