A new “vs.” docuseries, Taylor Swift vs. Scooter Braun, is coming to Discovery+ in the UK. The high-profile feud between the singer-songwriter and Scooter Braun, whose company acquired Taylor Swift‘s former record label, Big Machine Records, hasn’t received a US release date yet, prompting viewers to wonder if the latest “vs.” installment will make its way overseas. When Taylor Swift released her first six studio albums, she was under contract with Big Machine, which was sold in 2019. Even five years after the sale, Swift’s feud with Braun is still making headlines — and that’s part of her goal.
The highly publicized dispute isn’t the first to erupt over the ownership of music and, specifically, artists’ “masters” — industry-speak for the original recording that all copies stem from. Other hugely popular artists like Prince have fought for ownership of their masters before Swift. However, Swift smartly took her dispute with Braun public in order to hold him accountable — to Swift, to the media, and her legions of fans. While Swift has previously touched on the issue in Lana Wilson’s 2020 documentary Miss Americana, Discovery+’s Taylor Swift vs. Scooter Braun promises a fresh look at the feud.
Thirteen years after its release, Fearless, Swift’s sophomore album, was re-released under the reworked title Fearless (Taylor’s Version). Since then, Swift has re-issued her versions of Red, 1989, and Speak Now, with Taylor’s Versions of Reputation and her self-titled debut album waiting in the wings. Unable to buy back her masters from Braun’s company, Swift decided that the best way to truly own her music was to re-record her first six studio albums. Unlike other artists who have undergone similar disputes over their masters, Swift leveraged her platform against Braun’s exploitation of her art.
Even more impressive, Swift turned the incredibly lucrative re-releases into thrilling love letters to her fans. Instead of letting others dismantle her musical legacy, Swift took it back. However, the story isn’t just intriguing for fans of the icon behind Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour. Instead, the dispute shines a harsh light on the music industry — a place in which even artists with Swift’s reach, privilege, and success can be exploited by rights-holders. While Discovery+ hasn’t released too many details about Taylor Swift vs. Scooter Braun, viewers can expect the docuseries to chronicle the saga from its 2019 origins through Swift’s first four re-releases.
As of the docuseries’ announcement, Taylor Swift vs. Scooter Braun is a UK production that’s reportedly not available in the US — not yet, at least. However, previous entries in the insightful Discovery+ series have made their way overseas. Both Johnny vs. Amber and Kim vs. Kanye were eventually released in the States, with Johnny vs. Amber, in particular, performing exceptionally well. That said, even with very few details about the show available, it’s hard to believe Discovery+, and parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, wouldn’t release the Taylor Swift docuseries in the US at some point (via Variety).
Again, details surrounding Taylor Swift vs. Scooter Braun are somewhat scarce, but the releases of previous Discovery+ “vs.” series do shed some light on what a US release plan might look like. The first installment in the docuseries, Johnny vs. Amber, dropped in the UK in May 2022 and in the US in September 2022. The second subject in the docueries, Kim vs. Kanye, featured a simultaneous release in both the US and the UK in August 2023, though the US versions of the series stream on Max not Discovery+. All of that said, it’s entirely possible Taylor Swift vs. Scooter Braun will also be released in the US the same day as in the UK.
Source: Variety