Where Justin Bieber and Manager Scooter Braun Really Stand Amid Rumors They've Parted Ways
Justin Bieber and Scooter Braun are still in good company.
Despite recent rumors purporting that the pop superstar professionally parted ways with his longtime manager, reps for both Justin and Scooter denied the claims to E! News on Aug. 18.
The fallout speculation comes eight months after Justin sold his entire music catalog to United Kingdom-based investment company Hipgnosis Songs Capital for a whopping $200 million. The massive deal included the 29-year-old's publishing copyrights, master recordings and back catalog of 290 songs released before Dec. 31, 2021, according to Variety.
At the time, Merck Mercuriadis, founder and CEO of Hipgnosis Song Management, credited Scooter for helping the singer "build a magnificent catalog."
"The impact of Justin Bieber on global culture over the last 14 years has truly been remarkable," he said in a statement. "This acquisition ranks among the biggest deals ever made for an artist under the age of 70, such is the power of this incredible catalog that has almost 82 million monthly listeners and over 30 billion streams on Spotify alone."
Meanwhile, Scooter described the contract as "historic," adding in a statement of his own, "When Justin made the decision to make a catalog deal, we quickly found the best partner to preserve and grow this amazing legacy was Merck and Hipgnosis. For 15 years I have been grateful to witness this journey and today I am happy for all those involved. Justin's greatness is just beginning."
Scooter first discovered Justin in the late aughts, when he stumbled onto one of the Canada native's performance videos on YouTube. The music exec invited Justin and his mom Pattie Mallette to his homebase in Atlanta, before signing him to Island Def Jam and becoming his manager.
Since then, the 42-year-old has played an active role in Justin's career, including producing his 2011 documentary Never Say Never, 2013 concert movie Believe and 2020 docuseries Seasons.
His entertainment group, SB Projects, also boasts the likes of Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato, Black Eyed Peas and Ashley Graham on their client roster.
I love working with the people I work with," Scooter told The Guardian in 2018. "I'm blessed to be a part of these people's stories. But their story is not just going to define mine."
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