Taylor Swift has made headlines over the past couple of days regarding an impassioned post she shared to Tumblr following the sale of Big Machine, and her back catalog, to Scooter Braun.
Of course, as with anything, the immediate response from everyone ever was to pick a side. Fans are picking sides. Celebrities are picking sides. Family of celebrities are picking sides.
Can we all shut up for a second and look at this the way it needs to be looked at? Let's set aside the feud aspect of this for a moment. Forget about the years of drama with Justin Bieber. Forget about the Kanye/Kim scandal. Forget about who found out about which deal on which day at what time.
Just forget it for a second.
Ready? Let's look at the facts.
The facts are that Scott Borchetta, with whom Swift worked for years, sold the label to Braun. The facts are that this now means Braun has complete ownership over of Taylor Swift's music from her debut album all the way through 2017's Reputation. The facts are that a press conference took place several days prior, but Swift's father did not participate.
Why are we spending so much time focusing on which celebrity wronged which celebrity instead of paying attention to what we know to be true?
Now that we have that laid out, let's analyze a few things.
Taylor Swift's first six albums, and all that came along with them, now belong to Scooter Braun, a man whose best interests may not be aligned with those of Swift. Swift has articulated the fact that she does not believe her best interests will be served. Once again setting aside the feuds, isn't it sh*tty for someone who has spent their entire life working on something to know have to stand idly as their creation gets placed into the hands of someone they are struggling to trust?
I think so.
Regardless of my own support for Taylor over the years, I can confidently say I would have the same reaction if this were to happen to any artist, and I would hope that others would, too. Any artist who has dedicated their life to their craft deserves to not have that craft controlled by a person they feel they have been wronged, manipulated, or degraded by in the past. If you ask me, it doesn't really matter who believes what. This is Taylor's craft, now owned by someone Taylor has grievances with. You surely wouldn't want to be placed in such a position, and if that is true, then we surely shouldn't want anyone else to be, either.
I also would like to touch on how Swift has mentioned that she woke up to the news just like everyone else. Borchetta countered this by saying he sent her a text at 9pm the night before to let her know, and regardless of who you choose to believe, 9pm the night before a life-altering change for an artist doesn't really cut it for me. If Borchetta knew of the conflicts between Swift and Braun, which he has stated he did, that text should have come long in advance, just as courtesy from one human being to another. But especially as a courtesy when these two people have worked together for years and established an amazingly successful music empire together.
The petty little details don't matter here, when it comes down it. All that matters is that Taylor Swift's life's work is now in the hands of a person it maybe shouldn't be in.
I stand with Swift. I think we all should.
