Here's Why Taylor Swift Doesn't Have Grounds for a Lawsuit Against Scooter Braun  | THR News - video Dailymotion

Hollywood Journal

Ownership of recordings is an area of contention between artists and labels, but experts say even a major star like Swift can’t do anything about a $300 million sale that includes her catalog.

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00:00Things don't seem to be calming down in the public battle between Taylor Swift

00:09and Scooter Braun, after he bought her former label and acquired her music catalog.

00:13So will Swift sue Braun to get her masters? Legal experts say it's not likely. Here's why.

00:19But first, here's a quick breakdown of just what went down. After it was announced that a company

00:23fronted by Braun would pay $300 million for Big Machine Label Group, the Me singer checked

00:28a Tumblr to say she was blindsided by the news and wasn't given the opportunity to buy her master

00:34recordings. Meanwhile, Big Machine's CEO Scott Borchetta defended the deal and posted a partial

00:38screenshot of the last deal memo he says he sent Swift, saying it would have given her ownership

00:43of everything she'd created. He claimed she rejected the deal. However, Swift's attorney

00:47Dawn Passman told The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday, Scott Borchetta never gave Taylor Swift

00:52an opportunity to purchase her masters or the label outright with a check in the way he is now

00:57apparently doing for others.

00:58So what does this all mean for Taylor's future? Well, according to music attorneys consulted

01:08by THR, she likely doesn't have grounds for a lawsuit. Music specialist Howard King said

01:14she has no legal recourse. However, James Amataro, who represents both artists and companies in

01:19the music industry, says there may be a confidentiality provision that could have been breached when

01:23Borchetta posted the proposed deal terms online. But it's just as likely that he could argue Swift

01:29breached it first by posting on Tumblr. Still, he says, I don't think it's going to result in

01:33litigation of any sort.

01:39Now, Samataro also notes that Swift will still have some control over certain exploitations of her

01:44masters that require permission from the owner of the underlying composition. For example, a film

01:49studio can't license Shake It Off for a movie without the green light from both Braun and Swift.

01:54And public pressure might make Braun think twice about exploiting her work in ways she wouldn't

01:58be happy with.

01:59Alright, for much more on this story, head to THR.com. Until next time, for The Hollywood Reporter

02:03News, I'm Tiffany Taylor.

Here's Why Taylor Swift Doesn't Have Grounds for a Lawsuit Against Scooter Braun | THR News

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