Swift feud heats up
Singer says men who own her old songs won’t allow her to play at AMAs
Taylor Swift said that she may not perform at the American Music Awards and may have to put other projects, including a forthcoming Netflix documentary, on hold because the men who own her old recordings won’t allow her to play them.
“Right now my performance at the AMAs, the Netflix documentary and any other recorded events I am planning to play until November 2020 are a question mark,” Swift said on Twitter and Instagram. The singer said she had planned to play a medley of her hits when she’s named Artist of the Decade at the American Music Awards on November 24, but the men who own the music, Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta, are calling the TV performance an illegal re-recording.
“I just want to be able to perform MY OWN music. That’s it,” Swift said. “I’ve tried to work out this out privately through my team but have not been able to resolve anything.”
The 29-year-old singer-songwriter has loudly spoken out against her old master recordings falling into the hands of music manager Braun, who bought them by acquiring Borchetta’s Big Machine Label Group in June. Swift has used the sale to publicly advocate for the rights of artists.
Swift said in the posts that Borchetta has told her he will allow the projects to go forward if she drops plans to record copycat versions of her older songs next year, which Swift says she plans to do and has the legal right to, and if she stops her public trashing of the two men.
“The message being sent to me is very clear,” Swift said. Basically, be a good little girl and shut up. Or you’ll be punished.”
Swift called on her fans to put pressure on Braun and Borchetta to allow her performance and projects to go forward. The Netflix documentary, which chronicles her life, was unannounced.