Music mogul Scooter Braun regrets the way his feud with Taylor Swift unfolded over his ownership of her masters, insisting he did try to help her buy back the original recordings.
The Shake It Off hitmaker waged war against Braun in 2019 after he and his Ithaca Holdings LLC partners acquired the rights to her first six albums through their purchase of Scott Borchetta's Big Machine Label Group, to which Swift was signed until 2018.
At the time, the pop superstar claimed her efforts to take ownership of her masters before they were sold to Braun were shot down, and even after the sale went through, she tried her best to negotiate a deal for her early recordings.
However, Swift claimed the offer received was unacceptable, because it included an "ironclad" non-disclosure agreement, which allegedly banned her from saying anything negative about Braun.
Now Braun, the manager of Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, and Demi Lovato, has broken his silence to address the accusations, admitting he's learned some valuable lessons from the contentious back and forth.
"I regret and it makes me sad that Taylor had that reaction to the deal," Braun told Variety.
Suggesting Swift wasn't told the full story of his dealings with her representatives, he continued, "All of what happened has been very confusing and not based on anything factual. I don't know what story she was told. I asked for her to sit down with me several times, but she refused.
"I offered to sell her the catalog back and went under NDA, but her team refused. It all seems very unfortunate. Open communication is important and can lead to understanding. She and I only met briefly three or four times in the past, and all our interactions were really friendly and kind. I find her to be an incredibly talented artist and wish her nothing but the best."
Braun claims the worst part of the public fall out was her depiction of him as a "bully".
"I'm firmly against anyone ever being bullied," he said. "I always try to lead with appreciation and understanding.
"The one thing I'm proudest of in that moment was that my artists and team stood by me. They know my character and my truth. That meant a lot to me. In the long run, I'm happy for my life's work to be the legacy I leave behind."
Swift has yet to respond to Braun's interview remarks, which emerge seven months after he offloaded the singer's masters to bosses at an investment fund for over $300 million (£212 million).
The musician is currently in the midst of re-recording each of her first six albums to reclaim ownership of her songs.
She dropped the first project, Fearless (Taylor's Version), in April, and recently announced she has started work on re-recording her 2012 release, Red.
