Scooter Braun Retires From Music Management
Scooter Braun has hung up his hat as one of the most talked-about managers in the modern pop sphere, but he’ll stay on as CEO of HYBE-America.
Scooter Braun (Credit: Bradford Rogne)
After 23 years of dominating the modern pop music landscape, Scooter Braun has announced he’ll be hanging up his hat as one of the industry’s most prolific managers.
The 43-year-old entrepreneur, record executive and current CEO of HYBE-America (the North American subsidiary of South Korean entertainment giant Hybe) confirmed his latest career move in a lengthy statement shared on social media, where he reminisced on many of his greatest achievements from the past two decades.
“Along the way I have had so many experiences I could never have dreamt of,” Braun wrote, comparing his time in the music industry to Forrest Gump, “witnessing and taking part in the journeys of some of the most extraordinarily talented people the world has ever seen”. He added: “I’m constantly pinching myself and asking, ‘How did I get here?’”
Braun went on to admit that closing this chapter of his life is a “strange feeling”, continuing: “For my entire adult life I played the role of an artist manager on call 24 hours a day, [seven] days a week. And for 20 years I loved it. It’s all I had known. But as my children got older, and my personal life took some hits, I came to the [realisation] that my kids were [three] superstars I wasn’t willing to lose. The sacrifices I was once willing to make I could no longer justify.”
Braun’s career is now solely focused on Hybe, maintaining his role as CEO of HYBE-America and joining the board of the global corporation. He said of this change: “Over the past [two] years I have been heading towards this destination, but it wasn’t until last summer that this new chapter became a reality. One of my biggest clients and friends told me that they wanted to spread their wings and go in a new direction. We had been through so much together over the last decade, but instead of being hurt I saw it as a sign.
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“You see, life doesn’t hand you YOUR plan, it hands you GOD’s plan. And God has been pushing me in this direction for some time. I have nothing but love for those I have worked with over the years, and as we develop a different working relationship, I will always be in their corner to consult and support them whether it be directly or from afar. Every client I have had the privilege of working with has changed my life, and I know many of them are just beginning to see the success they deserve. I will cheer for every single one of them.”
Despite stepping away from artist management, Braun’s agency SB Projects will remain active, now under the leadership of Allison Kaye and Jennifer McDaniels. In his statement, Braun said they are both “more than capable to lead” the company, “and as we combine new resources, the opportunities with their leadership are endless”.
He added: “These two incredibly powerful women will now step into a role that I know will grow into the most impressive women-led management business our industry has even seen. While my name may have been on the door all these years, the truth is there is no one as brilliant as Allison Kaye, and few who can manage with the grace and poise of Jen McDaniels.”
See Braun’s full statement below:
Braun is best known for helping launch the careers of some of the biggest artists in pop history, such as Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato and The Kid LAROI. But his tenure in the industry has been fraught with controversy – he’s made a fierce enemy of Taylor Swift, for example, and all of those aforementioned artists eventually cut ties with him: Grande and Lovato both ditched SB Projects last year, while Bieber is reportedly “not on speaking terms” with him, and LAROI has publicly thrown shade at him.
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