Taylor Swift has reflected on the importance of song “ownership” in a new interview, amid her ongoing feud with music mogul Scooter Braun.
The bad blood between the pair began when Braun acquired Taylor’s old record label, Big Machine, and with it the masters to her first six albums.
She took to social media at the beginning of the summer (2019) and called the deal her “worst case scenario” and alleged Scooter, who represents Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande among others, was a “bully”.
The one-sided feud escalated last month (November 2019) when Swift accused Braun and her former record label boss, Scott Borchetta, of banning her from performing her old hits at the American Music Awards. He denied the allegations.
Taylor has now subtly referenced the fallout during an interview with Andrew Lloyd Webber for British Vogue magazine, explaining how important it is to actually own the songs one writes.
“I think (writing) is really important – also from the side of ownership over what you do and make,” she said. “Even if you aren’t a natural writer, you should try to involve yourself in the messages you’re sending.”
Lloyd Webber, who composed the songs for musical Cats – the movie adaptation of which Taylor is appearing in – also asked the singer whether she’d always had an idea that she’d try her hand at acting as well as singing.
“I have no idea,” she replied. “When I was younger, I used to get questions like, ‘Where do you see yourself in 10 years?’ I’d try to answer. As I get older, I’m learning that wisdom is learning how dumb you are compared to how much you are going to know.”
