16 November 2019
Newsdesk
Big Machine Label Group's headquarters was forced to shut early on Friday (15.11.19) due to threats to staff.
The record label - which is run by Scott Borchetta and was acquired by Scooter Braun's company in July - closed down its offices in Nashville, Tennessee, at 12:30pm local time after employees reportedly received "direct and hostile death threats", according to Entertainment Tonight.
The company is embroiled in a bitter row with former client Taylor Swift, who claimed Big Machine has stopped her from performing her old songs and put plans for a proposed Netflix documentary and her performance at the American Music Awards (AMAs) in doubt because Braun and Borchetta won't allow the use of her old material.
After Taylor - whose master recordings are still owned by her former label - went public with her claims, it was alleged that some of her fans have been trying to "to leak personal contact information and addresses of company employees".
The company has contacted the authorities to report the matter.
In Taylor's original Twitter post, she told her fans she had been told to "be a good little girl and shut up. Or you'll be punished."
She went on to appeal to them to campaign on her behalf and also ask other artists connected to the businessmen to speak up.
She continued: "This is WRONG. Neither of these men had a hand in the writing of those songs. They did nothing to create the relationship I have with my fans. So this is where I'm asking for your help.
"Please let Scott Borchetta and Scooter Braun know how you feel about this. Scooter also manages several other artists who I really believe care about other artists and their work.
"Please ask them for help with this - I'm hoping 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..."
However, in a statement the company has said: "At no point did we say Taylor could not perform on the AMAs or block her Netflix special. In fact, we do not have the right to keep her from performing live anywhere. Since Taylor's decision to leave Big Machine last fall, we have continued to honour all of her requests to license her catalogue to third parties as she promotes her current record in which we do not financially participate."
