His management firm suffered a public exodus when his biggest stars sought new representation without explanation.
But Scooter Braun indicating that he doesn’t hold it against one of the biggest defectors, Ariana Grande, when he congratulated her on Instagram on Wednesday.
The 42-year-old record executive cheered on the 30-year-old hitmaker and actress on Instagram after she broke a new streaming record.
The Wicked star became the woman with the most songs on Spotify to each be streamed over 1 billion times after scoring her 13th tune to rack up the stunning numbers.
The post, which didn’t allude to whatever caused Grande to cut ties with Braun, comes less than two weeks after reports that she is technically still stuck in a management contract with him, despite having hired a new manager.
Scooter Braun, 42, suggested there was no bad blood between him and Ariana Grande when he shared a congratulatory Instagram post on Wednesday; seen in 2020 in LA
Braun celebrated Grande, 30, for scoring a new Spotify streaming record after earning 13 songs with over 1 billion streams each on the service; seen in 2020 in LA
Scooter appeared to have reposed a photo of his client wearing long blonde hair and a splash of crimson on her lips, along with pearl earrings and a pointy black off-the-shoulder dress.
‘Ariana Grande is the woman with most songs over 1 billion streams,’ the photo read, adding, ‘In Spotify’s history with 13 songs.’
In his own caption, the celebrity manager added: ’10 years of hits and a lot of memories. Congratulations Ari.’
A second slide celebrated the Thank U, Next singer for another milestone for one of her holiday songs.
‘Santa Tell Me has surpassed 1 billion streams on Spotify,’ it read. ‘It’s the first Christmas song released this century to do that.’
In addition to being the first recent Christmas song to reach the milestone, it was the 13th song that put her over the edge to have the most songs with over 1 billion streams.
Scooter’s post about Ariana appears to be the first time he has publicly referenced her since news that she had signed with a new manager.
Despite the apparent lack of bad blood between the two, that didn’t stop Ariana from signing with Good World Management’s Brandon Creed, who also represents Demi Lovato.
Grande’s 13th song — which broke the record — was her Christmas hit Santa Tell Me, which also became the first Christmas song over the current century to score over 1 billion streams
Lovato was among the crop of stars who ditched Braun’s management company.
Justin Bieber, one of Scooter’s biggest acts, was also reported to have left him in August, but reps for the Sorry singer denied that he had left Braun and noted that the had signed another four-year contract in 2022, though an ongoing contract didn’t stop Ariana from moving on.
Earlier in December, it was reported that Grande had signed with Creed’s newly-launched Good World Management, months after she allegedly parted ways with Braun, marking a decade since he helped catapult her to fame with her debut album, Yours Truly.
But insiders close to the situation told DailyMail.com that despite wanting to part ways with Braun, she is still very much tied to the record executive, at least legally.
‘Although Ariana has indeed found new music management, she has not dropped or cut ties with Scooter because she is tied in contractually,’ they said. ‘She continues to be contractually bound to Scooter as there are several long term contracts still in place.’
The current arrangement forces Grande to continue to pay Braun as if he were actively managing her career, even though she has no interest in having him steer the ship anymore.
‘If Ariana were to release a new album tomorrow, she would still be obligated to pay Scooter in addition to Brandon. Nothing has changed there,’ the insider said.
However, it seems that Grande is doing the best she can not to collaborate with Braun, with a second source insisting: ‘She is not working with Scooter.’
Grande had reportedly cut ties months ago with Braun – but a source recently told DailyMail.com that she is still under contract to him; seen in 2020 in LA
The singer still has ‘several long term contracts in place,’ a source said; Pictured together
Grande began attempting to cut all ties with Braun some time ago but is understood to have grown increasingly frustrated with him over his handling of her romance with Ethan Slater
In fact, the second insider said that there are currently ‘legal proceedings pending’ over the contract ending, revealing: ‘There are legal proceedings pending over what, if anything, each party is entitled to as a result of the contract ending.’
Still, the pop star is continuing to work.
Earlier this year Grande shared several pictures with her collaborator Max Martin, which fans took as confirmation she is working on her eagerly awaited seventh album.
While Grande began attempting to end her contract with Braun some time ago, the insiders added that she grew further frustrated with him over his handling of the scandal that arose from her romance with her Wicked costar Ethan Slater.
‘Ariana wanted Scooter to do an immediate intervention to salvage her image after being accused of breaking up Ethan’s marriage,’ the source continued. ‘But Scooter was not there for her in her time of need and this just wasn’t right to her.’
However, Sources close to Grands insisted that this was not the reason behind her decision to part ways with the music mogul.
She and Slater met in December last year while shooting the upcoming film adaptation of the smash-hit Broadway musical Wicked in the UK, in which she plays Glinda the Good Witch alongside Slater as munchkin Boq.
Reports that the pair were dating first surfaced in July, amid their respective divorces — Grande from Dalton Gomez, 28, and Slater from Lilly Jay, 29.
The Dangerous Woman singer finalized her divorce from the real estate agent on October 6, nearly two years after they married in an intimate ceremony at their home in Montecito, California.
Documents listed their separation date as February 20, 2023, which was branded ‘absolutely impossible’ by a separate source close to the singer.
‘Saying she was split with Dalton in February is absolutely impossible,’ they previously told DailyMail.com.
‘Dalton was with her in February and they both gushed over each other for Valentine’s Day. He was in London a couple times after February, including in April when Ariana and Dalton went on double dates with Ethan and Lilly.’
Grande’s camp has denied any suggestion of an affair.
The double Grammy winner is the latest artist to sign on with Creed, who launched his Good World Management in July, after leaving Full Stop Management.
Creed, a ‘longtime friend and colleague’ of Braun’s, also manages Troye Sivan, Mark Ronson, Charli XCX, and Normani.
She recently signed with Good World Management’s Bandon Creed, (pictured) who is a friend and former colleague of Braun’s
Grande and her ex-husband Dalton Gomez, pictured in 2020, finalized their divorce in October after nearly two years
Slater and his estranged wife Lilly Jay are in the process of finalizing their divorce; pictured in 2021
‘[Ariana] likes that [Brandon] understands her on a different level and between acting and music, she has a lot coming up and is excited to have found a new support system to help her execute her plans,’ an insider told Billboard on Sunday.
A second source added: ‘She wants the focus to be her art and he puts her artistry and vision before anything else. He is the perfect person to help her execute her visions for this next chapter of her life and career.’
Braun managed a roster of talent through his management company, SB Projects, including Justin Bieber, Demi Lovato, Kanye West, J Balvin and Kid Laroi.
Grande’s departure from Braun was first reported by TMZ in August – the same month Lovato and Braun ended their contract as part of an ‘amicable’ agreement.
At the time, a separate source told DailyMail.com this was untrue, claiming that ‘people are spreading rumors based on what they know, but they are off’ in their speculation.
Just hours after the news was revealed, Braun poked fun at his professional predicament on Twitter.
‘Breaking news… I’m no longer managing myself,’ he wrote.
Following Levato’s departure, reports then surfaced that Bieber – who he discovered on YouTube in 2008 – was also leaving the music manager.
Billboard dismissed the reports, confirming that Bieber had signed a seven-year contract with Braun in 2020.
Braun is also involved in Grande’s R.E.M. Beauty through his HYBE America corporation.
In 2021, Braun sold Ithaca Holdings – the parent company to his SB Projects talent management company – to Korean K-Pop entertainment giant HYBE for $1.06 billion.
Grande, pictured in the studio, would be ‘obligated to pay Scooter’ should she bring out a new album in the next couple of years
In addition to music, Braun’s company HYBE America is a major investor in Grande’s R.E.M. Beauty and makeup line which she is seen promoting here
A press release in May revealed that Grande had secured major funding for her beauty empire from several investors, including HYBE
In August, Braun assumed the role of CEO of HYBE America – forcing him to step back from his former role as a talent manager.
Several months prior, in May, R.E.M. Beauty announced in a press release that the brand had secured funding from major investors including Sandridge Capital, Live Nation, Universal Music Group, and Braun’s HYBE America.
Braun’s sale of Ithaca Holdings – which, in addition to Braun’s former talent management company SB Projects, also owned Big Machine Label Group – which owned the rights to Taylor Swift’s first six albums.
She is currently in the process of re-recording them all under the moniker ‘Taylor’s version.’
