CELEBRITY
Breaking News: Taylor Swift ought to be permitted to play her own songs, according to a petition with nearly 75,000 signatures…
Taylor Swift’s legions of fans immediately mobilized after she opened up about her current legal struggles, which involve her desire to perform the music she wrote and recorded for her first six albums.
Swift released a statement via social media on Thursday, accusing Scott Borchetta and Scooter Braun of impeding her upcoming performance at the AMAs, as well as a Netflix documentary about her life that’s reportedly been in the works for years.
Swift asked her fans to “let Scott Borchetta and Scooter Braun know how you feel about this.” The hashtags #IStandWithTaylor and #FreeTaylor promptly began trending on Twitter.
The petition accuses Borchetta of selling Swift’s back catalog to Braun as “a strange revenge tactic,” and accuses both the men of “quite literally holding HER artwork hostage… which is gross and almost blackmail.”
“Not allowing her to use her music in any projects is manipulative and power hungry, all over music SHE WROTE,” it reads. “Letting them get away with this will continue the disgusting sexism of the music industry as well manipulation of smaller/upcoming artists who just want to create art.”
Other, smaller petitions have also popped up. One titled “#LetTaylorHaveHerSongsBack” has over 5,000 signatures.
Borchetta founded Swift’s former label Big Machine Records, which owns the masters of Swift’s songs recorded before she made the switch to Universal Music Group last year. Braun acquired Big Machine Records earlier this year, along with a back catalog of Swift’s music — an acquisition she vehemently opposed and spoke out against.
According to Swift, the two men have refused to let her perform her old music on TV or license it for the documentary — unless Swift agrees not to re-record versions of her songs and to “stop talking” about Borchetta and Braun.