Trending 15th November 2019 by Valerie Loftus

Taylor Swift Says She’s Been Banned From Performing Her Old Songs At The AMAs

She's accused Scott Borchetta and Scooter Braun of exercising 'tyrannical control' over her music.

Taylor Swift says that the owners of her old songs have banned her from performing them at an upcoming awards ceremony.

The singer posted a lengthy statement alleging that Scott Borchetta and Scooter Braun were preventing her from performing a medley of her songs at the American Music Awards, and had declined use of her older music for a Netflix documentary about her life.

Earlier this year, Taylor’s old record label was acquired by Braun, manager of artists like Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, and Demi Lovato.

This means that his company now owns the masters of six Taylor Swift albums – and while Taylor plans to re-record her old music next year, they can seemingly stop her from performing it until then.

“I feel very strongly that sharing what is happening to me could change the awareness level for other artists and potentially help them avoid a similar fate,” Taylor wrote.

“The message being sent to me is very clear. Basically, be a good girl and shut up. Or you’ll be punished. This is WRONG. Neither of these men had a hand in the writing of these songs. They did nothing to create the relationship I have with my fans.”

She beseeched Braun’s artists to speak to their manager about the decision, hoping that “maybe they can talk some sense into the men who are exercising tyrannical control over someone who just wants to play the music she wrote.”

“I just want to be able to perform MY OWN music. That’s it. I’ve tried to work this out privately through my team but have not been able to resolve anything. Right now, my performance at the AMAs, the Netflix documentary and any other recorded events I am planning to play until November of 2020 are a question mark.”

Swifties swiftly assembled and in response to Taylor’s statement, #IStandWithTaylor began trending on Twitter.

In July, Taylor released a statement claiming she had learned of the sale of her masters as it was announced to the rest of the world, and accusing Braun of “incessant, manipulative bullying” over the years.

She said that Borchetta was aware of her issues with Braun, and that the men “knew what they were doing” in making the deal.

“This is what happens when you sign a deal at 15 to someone for whom the term ‘loyalty’ is clearly just a contractual concept,” she wrote. “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… [Scott] knew what he was doing; they both did. Controlling a woman who didn’t want to be associated with them. In perpetuity. This means forever.”

Borchetta, meanwhile, claims that Taylor was informed of the sale before the news broke, and also knew that he and Braun were close.

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