Inside the roller-coaster career of Scooter Braun: How multi-millionaire music manager found success when he discovered a 12-year-old Justin Bieber before a very public feud with Taylor Swift and getting dumped by Ariana Grande

In the dizzying realm of the music industry, where talent and business acumen dance in perfect harmony, Scott Samuel Braun – better known as Scooter – has established himself as a true maverick.

With his finger firmly on the pulse of pop culture, 42-year-old Braun has transformed the careers of several leading artists, leaving an indelible mark on the contemporary music landscape – and a net worth of around $500 million in the process. has built.

But its wild success has given way to controversy in recent years.

A very public feud with world-renowned pop star Taylor Swift damaged his personal brand and exposed his ruthless nature, while Swift solidified her status as one of the world’s greatest artists.

Now amid the news that both Demi Lovato and longtime client Ariana Grande have opted to part ways with Braun’s management company, speculation is mounting that more controversies may be coming to light.

Here, MailOnline recaps the stunning highs and bitter clashes of the music magnate’s tumultuous career to date.

Born on June 18, 1981 in New York City, Braun laid the foundation for his future in the music industry with his upbringing.

Raised in a close-knit Jewish family in Greenwich, Connecticut, he showed a passion for music from an early age. After graduating from Greenwich High School, Braun pursued higher education at Emory University in Atlanta.

During his college days, he really honed his entrepreneurial skills by organizing successful events and parties that showed his ability to connect with a diverse audience.

He was hired by record label So So Def as executive marketing director at just 20 years old, and went on to co-found music group Raymond Braun with R&B stalwart Usher — something that earned him a spot on Forbes’ 30 Under 30. list for 2009.

But Braun’s first big leap into the music world was discovering a young Canadian teenager on YouTube who would go on to become a real superstar.

Braun came across a video of Justin Bieber singing a Ne-Yo cover and, recognizing the boy’s huge potential, tracked down the budding star and convinced his mother to let him move to Atlanta and be mentored under Braun’s guidance.

In 2010, the world witnessed the fruits of their partnership in Bieber’s debut album ‘My World’, which featured the hit song ‘Baby’ – the song responsible for launching Bieber’s career and cementing Braun’s status as a music industry mogul .

He went on to work with artists such as Kanye West, Black Eyed Peas, Carly Rae Jepsen, Demi Lovato and Ariana Grande, while also brokering marketing deals between artists and renowned companies and even expanding his reach into film and TV production.

But while much of Braun’s career has been marked by triumphs, things began to sour when he sparked a bitter feud with pop superstar Swift.

In 2019, Braun’s company Ithaca Holdings acquired Big Machine Label Group, which owned the rights to Swift’s first six albums, for an eye-watering $330 million.

This purchase sparked a much-publicized row, as Swift accused Braun of orchestrating a campaign of “incessant, manipulative bullying” against her and taking ownership of her artistic work without her consent.

The pair were already in bad blood due to Braun’s management and support from Kanye West, who herself clashed with Swift — first after she interrupted her acceptance speech at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, and second in 2016 after releasing the song ‘Famous’ that has explicit lyrics about Swift – and naked body doubles.

Later, Kim Kardashian released a taped phone conversation between Swift and West discussing the lyrics — which Swift had labeled misogynistic — suggesting that the pop star gave the rapper her blessing to use the words beforehand.

The incident sparked a widespread public perception that Swift had been dishonest, and saw her relationship with Kanye and Braun fall apart.

So when Braun acquired the rights to all six of Swift’s first albums and was paid royalties on her hard work and creative talent, the pop star was furious.

“My musical legacy is about to fall into the hands of someone who tried to dismantle it,” she wrote at the time. “This is my worst case scenario.”

Swift is now re-recording all six of her albums and will be releasing 1989’s “Taylor’s Version” later this year as she embarks on a mega world tour that has propelled her to superstardom.

Meanwhile, the 2020s haven’t been as successful for Braun.

In 2021, he divorced his wife of seven years, Yael Cohen, with whom he shares three children.

And this year, artists began cutting ties with the 42-year-old mogul.

Colombian singer J Bavin was the first higher-profile artist to leave, announcing in May that he had split from Braun’s SB Management company in favor of Jay-Z’s Roc Nation Management.

On Monday, both Demi Lovato and Ariana Grande — who teamed up with Braun at age 20 and released all six of her albums while on his roster — announced they would be leaving SB.

Lovato said the split was “amicable” and was simply seeking “a new direction,” while Grande’s decision to leave remains unexplained, according to Billboard.

But the high-profile departure has fueled speculation around Braun’s business activities and delighted Taylor Swift fans.

Representatives for Lovato and Braun declined to comment on DailyMail.com.