Yesterday, the 2019 American Music Awards at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles saw Taylor Swift being honoured as the "Artist of the Decade". And as part of the singer's performance at the ceremony, there was a very subtle Taylor Swift-esque blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment of pure shade.
This is the moment Taylor Swift subtly shades Scooter Braun in her AMAs Artist of the Decade performance:
Whether it's including easter eggs for fans to find in her latest music video or the word "lucky" 13 times in a song (every Swiftie knows '13' is the Lover singer's lucky number), Swift is famed for incorporating all kinds of references into every aspect of her art.
And this time, the 29-year-old hitmaker used her AMAs Artist of the Decade Performance to include a special reference to her ongoing feud with music manager Scooter Braun and Big Machine Records CEO Scott Borchetta.
Swift kicked off the performance in a white prison-like ensemble, emblazoned with the name of her previous albums - the albums which she claims she had been banned by Braun from performing at the music ceremony.
Also as part of the epic performance - and the subtle aspect of the shade-throwing - the background lit up so that it perfectly resembled Big Machine Records' logo.
If you need a little bit of refreshing on the whole situation, it all began earlier this year in June when Big Machine Records, Swift's former record label, was purchased by music manager Scooter Braun, including the masters for her first six albums.
This is the moment music legend, Carole King presented the award for Artist of the Decade to Taylor Swift:
The former country starlet made headlines when she called Braun out in a Tumblr post, saying she had been trying to buy the masters for years while describing Braun as an "incessant, manipulative bully".
Leading up to her performance at the AMAs, Swift claimed that Braun and Big Machine founder Scott Borchetta had banned her from performing her older songs at the ceremony, where she was due to receive the Artist of the Decade award.
"I’ve been planning to perform a medley of my hits throughout the decade on the show," she wrote in the Tumblr post. "Scott Borchetta and Scooter Braun have now said that I’m not allowed to perform my old songs on television because they claim that would be re-recording my music before I’m allowed to next year."
This was refuted by a Big Machine exec, who told TMZ that "Taylor Swift can 100% perform all of her catalog, past and present, on the AMAs."
In spite of this, it seems that the feud is still very much ongoing.
Taylor Swift had had her fair share of celebrity feuds over the years.
Swift took to her Tumblr to call out Scooter Braun after the manager bought her back catalogue of music from Scott Borchetta’s Big Machine Label Group, which was Swift's former label. Swift says through a lengthy Tumblr post that Braun, the manager of the likes of Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande, has consistently bullied her in the past. And that this is just icing on the cake.
Swift posted a photo of Justin Bieber's Instagram post as he FaceTimed with Braun. Bieber's Instagram caption read: "Taylor swift what up." Taylor wrote over the photo on his Tumblr post "This is Scooter Braun, bullying me on social media when I was at my lowest point. He's about to own all the music I've ever made."
"When I left my masters in Scott’s hands, I made peace with the fact that eventually he would sell them. Never in my worst nightmares did I imagine the buyer would be Scooter. Any time Scott Borchetta has heard the words ‘Scooter Braun’ escape my lips, it was when I was either crying or trying not to. He knew what he was doing; they both did. Controlling a woman who didn’t want to be associated with them. In perpetuity. That means forever."
Swift signed the post "sad and grossed out, Taylor." Justin Bieber responded to her response to his response. Are you keeping up? In his next Instagram post, he apologised with what some followers are deeming insufficient. Even model and long-time Swiftie bestie Cara Delevingne, who commented on Hailey Baldwin Bieber's Instagram comment defending her husband:
"I wish you spent less time sticking up for men and more time trying to understand women and respecting their valid reactions. As a married man, you should be lifting women up instead of tearing them down because you are threatened. I am not sure you actually understand what an apology is."
"This issue that @taylorswift is talking out is about far more than a picture and you know that. As you said, you haven’t spoken to her in years which means you definitely don’t understand the situation. I do. Take a step back and try and learn from this. We should all be on the same team. End of story."
No matter whose side you take, you can agree that famous people interacting with each other in the depths of Instagram comments and Tumblr (who has Tumblr anymore?) will never fail to entertain.
Artists’ ownership over their songs has long been a contested issue in the music industry. It has led to countless arguments, punch-ups, lawsuits and, now, social media firestorms. However, when Taylor Swift stands at the centre of controversy, it’s likely there’s more than meets the eye.
In a post on Pinterest, Swift called Scooter Braun an “incessant, manipulative bully” following his acquisition of Big Machine Label Group - which owns the rights to her music. Braun is credited with taking Justin Bieber from YouTube sensation to global megastar. The 38-year-old music mogul also counts Demi Lovato and Ty Dolla Sign within his roster of clients.
However, on Sunday, it was announced that Big Machine Label Group, the record label which owns all the master recordings from Swift’s albums, has been bought by Ithaca Holdings LLC - Braun’s company. The argument has escalated to the extent that the biggest names in music are now taking sides and slinging mud. So what did Braun do to Taylor Swift?
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It largely comes down to the feud between Taylor Swift and Kayne West following his line about her in the song Famous. “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex,” he raps. “Why? I made that bitch famous.” While West’s wife, Kim Kardashian, later released a secretly-recorded video call in which Swift agrees to being mentioned in the song, Taylor Swift fans were quick to point out that the word “bitch” wasn’t mentioned.
Swift was also one of the celebrities whose likeness was depicted using waxworks in the music video for the same song. While some saw this as a thought‑provoking, boundary‑pushing piece of art, in her recent post, Swift dubbed this a “revenge porn music video which strips my body naked”. Nonetheless, at the time, the court of public opinion ruled in Kim and Kanye’s favour, with the hashtag #KimExposedTaylorParty trending on social media.
Referring to Braun’s purchase of Big Machine as her “worst case scenario”, Swift adds: “Scooter has stripped me of my life’s work, that I wasn’t given an opportunity to buy. Essentially, my musical legacy is about to lie in the hands of someone who tried to dismantle it.”
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However, she is also unhappy with Scott Borchetta - the owner of Big Machine before it was sold to Ithaca Holdings. An independent label, Big Machine’s primary focus was country artists. As a genre‑defying pop sensation, Swift was quite the anomaly among his clients. In fact, Swift’s catalogue drove 80 per cent of Big Machine’s revenues last year, according to Variety.
“For years I asked, pleaded for a chance to own my work,” Swift explains. “Instead I was given an opportunity to sign back up to Big Machine Records and ‘earn’ one album back at a time, one for every new one I turned in. I walked away because I knew once I signed that contract, Scott Borchetta would sell the label, thereby selling me and my future.”
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As with many record deals, Taylor effectively signed away the rights to her master recordings (the original studio recordings from which all finished works are creatively and legally derived) to the record label she was signing with. In exchange for studio time, distribution and promotion, intellectual property rights are often handed over indefinitely.
In the impassioned post, the 29‑year‑old wrote: “I had to make the excruciating choice to leave behind my past. Music I wrote on my bedroom floor and videos I dreamed up and paid for from the money I earned playing in bars, then clubs, then arenas, then stadiums.”
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She also accuses Borchetta of not letting her know about the sale of the label until it was too late. While Borchetta’s response to the post has highlighted some discrepancies (he contends that he texted her to let her know and that her father - a Big Machine shareholder - had been notified), the basis of what Swift claims remains uncontested. The decision had been made without her.
The image which accompanied Swift’s open letter is a 2016 post from Justin Bieber’s Instagram account. Bieber’s post is a screenshot of a video call involving Kanye West, Scooter Braun and Justin Bieber. The caption is “Taylor swift what up”. To the photo, Taylor has added, “This is Scooter Braun, bullying me on social media when I was at my lowest point He’s about to own all the music I’ve ever made”. However, Justin Bieber has responded.
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“First of all i would like to apologize for posting that hurtful instagram post, at the time i thought it was funny but looking back it was distasteful and insensitive,” the pop star explains. “It was my captions” he explains, before adding that “he didnt have anything to do with it and it wasnt even a part of the conversation in all actuality he was the person who told me not to joke like that”.
“Both scooter and i love you,” Bieber states, before somewhat changing tact and adding: “I usually don’t rebuttal things like this but when you try and deface someone i loves character thats crossing a line.”
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Meanwhile, Swift’s allies have also given their two cents. “Telling someone about a deal days before it’s public means the deal was already done & she never had the opportunity to even make a bid to own her own work,” stated Iggy Azalea. “These deals take months to negotiate in long form.”
“He is an evil person who’s [sic] only concern is his wealth and feeding his disgusting ego,” YouTube star Todrick Hall said of Braun to whom he is a former client. “I believe he is homophobic & I know from his own mouth that he is not a Swift fan.”
Halsey added: “She deserves to own the painstaking labor of her heart.” A war of words, the internet is on fire with responses to the situation. In fact, there are so many different allegiances that pop culture journalist Courtney Soliday created this useful graphic.
Scott Borchetta, the former owner of Big Machine, has since responded in a blog post where he explained that he was largely unaware of Swift’s feeling’s towards Braun and that he gave her every opportunity to earn back her masters. However, as Swift explained, this would have been a lengthy process.
In many cases, it comes down to his word against hers. “Any time Scott Borchetta has heard the words ‘Scooter Braun’ escape my lips, it was when I was either crying or trying not to,” Swift explains. “He knew what he was doing; they both did.”
Sadly, it’s all too common for record labels to hang onto artists’ masters to earn money from potential future use of the music (such as in adverts) and as collateral. This time, the court of public opinion appears to be weighing in Taylor Swift’s favour - for highlighting an exploitative aspect of the music industry most people had never thought about.
The 2019 AMAs were a pretty lush event, and there was plenty for music fans to pick over and cheer about. The biggest news is probably that Taylor Swift has been named Artist of the Decade, and is also the most-awarded artist in the history of the show, boasted a whopping 29 wins by the time the cameras stopped rolling.
But to be honest, most of us tuned into the show to enjoy the cringe-worthy speeches, the live TV debacles, and the eyebrow-raising outfits. Suffice to say, there was plenty of material, and within hours, social media users had created a number of AMA-themed memes. Scroll down for a sample of some of our favorites below:
Billie Eilish's beekeeper outfit:
Billie Eilish took to the red carpet wearing a strange hat that put many people in mind of the protective clothing worn by beekeepers, and pretty soon memes of her outfits were being shared on Twitter.
Singer, rapper, and songwriter Lizzo's purse game was on-point at the show, when she brought a teeny-tiny purse along with her, held between her thumb and forefinger. Predictably, the bag inspired a lot of image macros.
Taylor Swift recently made history after clinching ten awards at this year's Billboard Music Awards.
The 33-year-old singer's been on a roll this year.
Not only has she embarked on a multi-million dollar world tour, but she has also managed to secure herself a handful of new awards - not that she was short on any.
Back in September, Swift managed to win a whopping nine awards at the VMA's. Her outstanding achievements included winning the night's most coveted prizes including Video of the Year and Song of the Year, for her hit track 'Anti-Hero' from her album Midnights.
Taylor Swift accepts the Best Pop award for 'Anti-Hero' onstage during the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards. Credit: Mike Coppola/Getty
The chart-topping artist also claimed the titles of Best Direction and Best Pop Video showcasing her remarkable versatility and artistry across various aspects of music and video production.
And it didn't stop there.
Swift also took home the awards for Best Artist, Visual Effects, Album of the Year, Show of the Summer, and Best Cinematography - a history-making night that's for sure.
And Sunday night's Billboard Awards was no different. Just when you think this woman can't possibly top her wins, she goes and secures herself ten new awards - yeah you read that right. Ten.
This time, the 'Love Story' hitmaker made history at the Billboard Music Awards after being nominated a total of 20 times in a range of categories including Top Artist, Top Female Artist, Country Female Artist, and Top Song Sales Artist.
Out of those, Swift swept up half of the awards, earning herself the title of the most-awarded female artist at the prestigious event, tying with rapper Drake for the most awards overall.
In a video posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, by the official Billboard account as well as The Eras Tour account, she thanked her fans for all their love and support throughout her career.
"Well this is unreal," she said in the acceptance speech, shot backstage at at Eras Tour show. "The fact that you guys have given me 10 Billboard Awards — I’m talking to the fans specifically. None of this happens without you."
"The Billboards base everything off of what you are listening to and what you’re passionate about, and I’m so honored that this year you made The Eras Tour so magical," she continued. "You went and saw the movie, you cared about my re-recordings. I just love you so much."
The star also described herself as "the luckiest person in the world."
"I feel like the luckiest person in the world to have you in my corner and caring about the music that I make,” she added. "So thank you — thank you, thank you, thank you ten million times - for this."
Taylor Swift swept up 10 awards at the Billboard Music Awards. Credit: Gotham/WireImage/Getty
Billboard reported that Swift was the biggest female winner of the night, and second only to Morgan Wallen’s 11 wins overall.
Now, the 33-year-old has a total of 39 BBMAs, just like Drake.
Other winners on the night included the likes of New Jeans, Jungkook, SZA, Bad Bunny and Miley Cyrus.
Swift is currently on the international leg of her Eras Tour. After completing her shows in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, she will be heading across the country to São Paulo next weekend.
Taylor Swift has added yet another accolade to her already impressive year - Time's 'Person of the Year'.
On Wednesday (December 6), the magazine named Taylor Swift as its 'Person of the Year'.
The title has been awarded every year by the publication since 1926, and recognizes a person, group, or idea that "for better or for worse... has done the most to influence the events of the year".
And it should come as no surprise that this year's winner is none other than the 'You Belong With Me' chart-topper.
Swift has had perhaps her most successful year yet - releasing the re-recorded versions of her Speak Now and 1989 albums and kicking off her hugely successful global Eras Tour.
She told Time that she is the "the proudest and happiest [she's] ever felt," while admitting that the physical toll of performing in Eras Tour shows has started to appear.
Taylor Swift is Time's Person of the Year. Credit: Buda Mendes/TAS23 / Getty
"I knew this tour was harder than anything I’d ever done before by a long shot," she said of the tour. "[The fans] had to work really hard to get the tickets. I wanted to play a show that was longer than they ever thought it would be."
But her hard work is paying off, as Forbes has recently named Swift one of 'the world's most powerful women', with the tour leading to her becoming a billionaire!
The Eras Tour is shaping up to be one of the most successful music ventures in history. Credit: Buda Mendes/TAS23 / Getty
Her newly released 1989 (Taylor's Version) album was the fastest-selling in 2023. Taylor will continue her tour in 2024 as she travels across the globe.
Back in February, Swift made history at the Grammys when she won in the category of 'Best Music Video', becoming the first artist to be the sole named director on the winning video. And in November, her nomination for Song of the Year at the 2024 Grammy's meant she's now received more nominations in the category than any other artist.
The 33-year-old singer also made history at this year's Billboard Awards - taking home a total of TEN awards, including Video of the Year and Song of the Year, for her hit track 'Anti-Hero' from her album Midnights.
Taylor Swift swept up 10 awards at the Billboard Music Awards. Credit: Gotham/WireImage/Getty
Last month, Spotify also revealed that Swift was the most-streamed artist of 2023 on its platform - topping many people's yearly 'Wrapped' rankings.
And away from the Music world, her blossoming relationship with NFL star Travis Kelce has brought a newfound interest for many to the sport of American football.
The shortlist for this year's title was certainly... eclectic. The names of the nine finalists for the publication's annual recognition were Taylor Swift, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, King Charles III, Trump prosecutors, CEO Sam Altman, Chair of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell, the movie Barbie, and Hollywood strikers.
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