What happened between Taylor Swift and Scooter Braun? Complete feud timeline explained in light of the singer reclaiming her music 

The Look What You Made Me Do singer, Taylor Swift, announced on Monday, May 30, 2025, that she now owns the master recordings of her first six albums: Taylor Swift (debut), Fearless, Speak Now, Red, 1989, and Reputation.

She shared the news on her website, along with a letter that read, in part:

''I've been bursting into tears of joy at random intervals ever since I found out that this is really happening. I really get to say these words: All of the music I've ever made... now belongs... to me.''

This news comes after a years-long feud between Taylor and Scooter Braun, who had acquired her original label. Read on to know more about the complete timeline of the feud between the two.

All about Taylor Swift’s Longtime Feud with Scooter Braun

The feud between Taylor and Scooter is one of the most high-profile and long-standing feuds in the music industry. For context, Taylor was signed to Big Machine Records from 2006-2018, under whom she had released the master recordings for her first six albums: Taylor Swift (debut), Fearless, Speak Now, Red, 1989, and Reputation.

Scooter Braun bought Big Machine Records in 2019

In June 2019, Scott Borchetta sold Big Machine Records to Braun, including Taylor's master recordings, for $300 million. On the same day, Taylor had written a lengthy post in which she expressed how her music recordings were given to Braun, who had bullied her for years, and also expressed how she did not have a chance to buy her master recordings.

Following Taylor's post, celebrities, including Selena Gomez, had sided with her, and artists like Justin Bieber had come to Scooter's defense.

Taylor announced re-recording her albums

In August, during an interview with CBS Sunday Morning, Taylor revealed her plans to re-record her albums. At the time, she was promoting Lover, which was her seventh studio album.

Taylor had then alleged that Big Machine and Borchetta were blocking her from singing her hit tracks at the American Music Awards

In November 2019, Taylor alleged that Braun and Borchetta were not allowing her to sing her hit tracks at the event, as that would count as re-recording. She also had made a lengthy X (formerly Twitter) post on the same. Big Machine then claimed that the allegations were false.

Swift had then performed at the music awards function and had worn a white shirt that featured the names of her first six albums, alluding to the master's battle with Braun.

Taylor calls out Braun during her Woman of the Decade award speech

In December 2019, Taylor was awarded the first-ever Billboard Woman of the Decade award, and during her award speech, she spoke about the unfair practices women endure in the music industry before she referenced her feud with Scooter Braun over her master recordings. In the speech, Taylor had also praised the women who took her side and supported her in the feud.

This is what her statement referencing her feud with Braun read:

'"Of course, Scooter never contacted me or my team to discuss it prior to the sale or even when it was announced. I'm fairly certain he knew exactly how I would feel about it though and let me just say that the definition of toxic male privilege in our industry is people saying, 'But he's always been nice to me' when I'm raising valid concerns about artists and their rights to own their music. Of course, he's nice to people in this room, you have something he needs.''

Swift calls out Big Machine for releasing her live album

In April 2020, Big Machine decided to release Taylor's live album titled Live from Clear Channel Stripped 2008, which she said was not approved by her. She called them out on social media, saying that it was a 'shameless' and 'tasteless' move by the label.

Braun sells Taylor's master recordings

In November 2020, Braun sold Swift's master recordings to a private equity company called Shamrock Holdings for more than $300 million. Initially when the news had come out, fans thought that it was Taylor who would have purchased the recording, but then in an X post, Taylor cleared the air and explained that she was in negotiation with Braun for the same until he asked her to sing an NDA which stated that Taylor would not talk negatively about him.

At the same time, she also announced that she had begun re-recording her albums.

Taylor releases first re-recorded album

In April 2021, Taylor released her first re-recorded album, Fearless (Taylor’s Version). The album included her old songs re-recorded and also six new vault tracks. The album was well-received by fans.

Swift alluded to the feud in her Midnights album

In October 2022, Taylor released her tenth studio album, Midnights. In the tracks, Vigilante Shit and Karma, she alluded to the feud with Braun.

Swift's team reacts to the docuseries Taylor Swift vs. Scooter Braun: Bad Blood

Taylor Swift vs Scooter Braun: Bad Blood, a two-part documentary about the feud between Taylor Swift and Scooter Braun, premiered in June 2024 on Max and Discovery+, and at the end of the series, Taylor's team gave a statement in which they said that Taylor had completely moved on from the controversy.

The statement further read:

''[She] has turned what started out as an extremely painful situation into one of the most fulfilling endeavors of her life. None of these men will ever be able to take anything away from Taylor’s legacy as a songwriter, singer, director, philanthropist and advocate for artists’ rights.''

Taylor announces that she bought her catalog back

On May 30, 2025, Taylor announced that she had bought back her master recordings. She shared the news in a letter on her website. It read, in part:

Hi. I'm trying to gather my thoughts into something coherent, but right now my mind is just a slideshow. A flashback sequence of all the times I daydreamed about, wished for, and pined away for a chance to get to tell you this news. All the times I was thiiiiiiiiiiiiis close, reaching out for it, only for it to fall through."

She continued:

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''I almost stopped thinking it could ever happen, after 20 years of having the carrot dangled then yanked away. But that's all in the past now.''

Shortly after Taylor made the announcement, Braun shared with Billboard that he was happy for her.

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