Brendon Urie has branded Scooter Braun as a "piece of s**t" following his acquisition of Big Machine records.
The Panic! at the Disco star has slammed the talent manager after Taylor Swift complained she felt "grossed out" knowing the music mogul – whom she has accused of "bullying" her – now owns her master records after his takeover, and claimed she never got a chance to buy them herself.
Brendon – who collaborated with Taylor on her hit single ‘ME!’ which was released earlier this year – said reading his friend’s statement "broke [his] heart", and branded the business deal as "disgusting".
During a livestream on social media, the 32-year-old singer said: "This Scooter Braun s**t, like what a piece of s**t, right? You guys know about this dude? It just like broke my heart, I read Taylor’s statement and I was like, ‘That sounds about right.’ Toxic dudes doing toxic bulls**t in this toxic industry.
"It’s disgusting, right? What a f***ing asshole. I thought that was illegal, to do a business turn behind the people who write the stuff. Like you can’t do it without their knowledge. There’s a certain amount of time legally that you have to let the people know. There’s gotta be a precedent for that."
In her original post, Taylor was "sad and grossed out" by the takeover of her former label but she hopes by speaking out, she will help others "learn about how to better protect themselves in a negotiation".
She concluded: "Thankfully, I am now signed to a label that believes I should own anything I create. Thankfully, I left my past in Scott’s hands and not my future. And hopefully, young artists or kids with musical dreams will read this and learn about how to better protect themselves in a negotiation. You deserve to own the art you make. I will always be proud of my past work. But for a healthier option, Lover will be out August 23. Sad and grossed out, Taylor (sic)"
Former Big Machine Records boss Scott Borchetta has disputed her account and insisted she was offered a new record deal which would have given her back all her "assets", including the master recordings and implied she knew about the deal before it was announced, something which the ‘Bad Blood’ hitmaker’s representative later insisted wasn’t the case.
Brendon Urie slams ‘piece of s**t’ Scooter Braun
