This is a whole new kind of record deal.
According to the Wall Street Journal, talent manager to the stars, Scooter Braun, has struck a deal to buy Nashville’s Big Machine Label Group for $300 million.
Big Machine opened its doors in 2005, with Scott Borchetta at the helm. Taylor Swift was the first artist on the label’s roster when she was just 15. The label went on to add more artists through the years, with acts like Sheryl Crow, Lady Antebellum, Thomas Rhett, Rascal Flatts and Florida Georgia Line currently on that list. Borchetta will reportedly still maintain his role as president and chief executive of Big Machine.
“Scott started in 2005 with no furniture in the lobby, and I started from my car wondering what am I going to do next,” said Braun. “Fourteen years later this deal is a testament to what we’ve been able to build.” And Borchetta echoed those sentiments. “As country catches up we’re able to plug into a pop landscape that will turbocharge opportunities for these artists,” Borchetta said.
Braun is well-known and highly regarded in the music business, mainly because he was instrumental in discovering Justin Bieber, and has since taken on artists like Ariana Grande, Zac Brown Band and J. Balvin.