As the saying goes, “Two is a coincidence, three is a trend.” On August 21, news broke that both Demi Lovato and Ariana Grande had parted ways with their manager, Scooter Braun. On Tuesday, August 22, The Hollywood Reporter quotes a source as saying Idina Menzel has also split with Braun, and that she did so back in January.
Meanwhile, a report last week that Justin Bieber was also leaving Scooter’s management stable has been denied.
So what’s going on? Depends on who you believe. Variety reports that according to one source, Scooter is “imploding” because he’s been an “a******” to people. Another insists to the publication, “He’s getting out of management — he has been for years. That’s the real story.”
That last comment may be the actual explanation. An industry source also issued a statement to Variety explaining that while these high-profile artists may not be personally managed by Braun anymore, they’re still with his company.
“All of Scooter Braun’s clients are under contract and negotiations have been going on for several months as Scooter steps into his larger role as HYBE America CEO,” the source tells Variety.
You may recall that in 2021, Scooter sold Ithaca Holdings, the parent company for his various businesses, to the South Korean company HYBE for more than a billion dollars. HYBE is the parent company of BIGHIT Music, home to BTS.
The statement added, “Scooter’s team at SB Projects are still handling both Justin and Ariana as they work through what this new structure looks like.”
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