TAYLOR SWIFT: Blocked from Performing Her Hits

Taylor Swift has gone public with the news that she may not be able to perform her hits on the upcoming American Music Awards, where she’s being honoured as Artist of the Decade, as well as in an upcoming Netflix documentary she’s had to announce now because a similar situation exists.

Swift lays out the scenario in a letter to fans on her social media.

Due to an agreement she struck with her former record label head Scott Borchetta and artist manager Scooter Braun, who now co-own her back catalogue, Swift needs their permission to perform her old material on TV until this deal goes into effect next year. And they won’t give it, claiming it would be “re-recording” her old songs before she’s legally allowed to.

She says she’s also decided to reveal the existence of the Netflix documentary because the two won’t allow her to use her “older music or performance footage for this project, even though there is no mention of either of them or Big Machine Records anywhere in the film.”    

She says she’s been told by Borchetta that they’ll only allow her to use her music if she agrees to not re-record copycat versions of her songs next year — the basis for their agreement — and to stop talking about him and Braun. She says the message being sent to her is “very clear. Basically, be a good little girl and shut up. Or you’ll be punished.” She worries about the chilling effect this would have, not only on her, but on other artists.

She feels strongly that she’s being wronged, so she’s asking for her fans to let Borchetta and Braun know how they feel about this. She also urges her supporters to contact other artists managed by Braun and ask them for their help in the matter. She believes those artists “care about other artists and their work”

Swift says she just wants to be able to perform her own music, but hasn’t been able to resolve anything with Borchetta and Braun. She concludes, “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.”