Scooter Braun
Full Name: Scott Samuel Braun
Birthdate: June 18, 1981
Birthplace: New York City, New York, USA
Occupation: Entrepreneur, Investor, and Philanthropist
Profile: Chairman of Ithaca Ventures and co-founder of TQ Ventures.
Website: http://scooterbraun.com/
Number of Quotes: 99
A lot of times in this business, we forget that we're surrounded by a lot of really good people.
As a music industry, if we remain in competition, then we die. We have to understand that we're
all in this together. Collaboration and synergy, it's one of the most important things out there.
Asher Roth lived on my couch for six months to build up a following. With Justin Bieber, I moved him and his mother to a town house a block away from me.
At 22 years old, I tattooed family
on my wrist to not lose sight of my true goal.
At the end of the day, everyone wants to feel heard.
Balance in general is difficult, but I refuse to go through life and just have work and not have good balance. I want to be an example, not
only to my own children but also to artists and other entrepreneurs, that you can be a workaholic and also be a good husband and good father.
Being successful doesn't mean you stop being human.
But the truth is, I bought Taylor's masters because I believed in her talent and
wanted to own her work as an investment. I was given an opportunity and I took it.
Paraphrased from various statements regarding the acquisition of Taylor Swift's master recordings.
Culture moves faster than corporations.
David Geffen was a Bruce Wayne to me. He was extraordinary, but at the same time, his talents were something that I could dream of and could fathom.
Don't confuse attention with connection.
Every artist is a brand, whether they like it or not.
For me, the most fun times in this office are when we're listening to music. That's what you signed up for, not to just make deals.
Hatred will never win.
I believe in karma.
A frequent personal motto he has stated in interviews and on social media.
I believe that communication is key. You have to be able to talk to the people you work with.
On management philosophy.
I got offered a bunch of reality show stuff, but I didn't want to be known for that, so I turned it all down.
I had very big lips growing up, so my brother started to call me Scooter Fish because he decided a scooter fish has big lips.
I believe we have a higher responsibility to each other.
I don't know if I'm going to be a manager forever. I don't know if I'm going to be producing films or television shows.
I don't think you're selling out by allowing the masses to love your art. The only
curse is that, when you get so big, sometimes people forget to look at the music.
I don't want anyone who is Muslim not to be able to dream that they can be President of the United States,
and I don't want any of my friends, regardless of their orientation, thinking they are less of a citizen.
I enjoy difficult tasks. What's hard is finding the people to do them and finding a team to actually enjoy success. That is the real challenge of success.
I have a rule where once a week I have a date night with my wife, and that's the time
when I put my phone away and have calls forwarded to my assistant in case of emergency.
I have respect for Taylor. I never wanted to get into a public dispute with her. I tried to do it privately.
Regarding the public feud with Taylor Swift.
I learned that you have a responsibility to do things when you can.
I looked at Robert Downey, Jr. and all these people - when you ask for redemption,
people will give it to you. But if you're the boy who cried wolf, they'll destroy you.
I love collaborating with other really smart, incredible people.
I love the creative process - brainstorming and coming up with campaigns.
I never like to talk about things until we're already successful. The moment you
announce what you're thinking about doing, you've already created a ticking time bomb.
I said no
nine times when Kanye asked me to work with him because I liked being friends with
him. Then he put me in a position where I couldn't say no: He just told everyone I was his manager.
I surround myself with incredible, capable people, and the beautiful part about the artists I've chosen to
work with, and the artists that have chosen to work with me, is that we share the same family values.
I think caring as much as we do has been our greatest asset and really allowed us to build such
a great company. It might not be conventional, but that's the way I'd rather live my life.
I think only Kanye can truly understand Kanye.
I think manager
is a stupid word.
I think people got this idea that I wanted to be a star. Managers of the past don't have any kind of public
persona - it's all about the fame of the artist. I really don't want to be a star. I just want to have a platform.
I think people will always like intelligent TV.
I think the reason why people loved Jem
in the '80s was because it kind of gave them this story of a place to fit in. It's about finding your place.
I want to build an asset-driven business, and I want to make my clients a part of everything I'm doing.
Go into the branding business, consumer products, food, apparel. We need to expand in those places.
I want to show that you can be a successful entertainment executive, be a good husband, be a good father, be a good friend, be down to
earth, be a good person, and give back. If I can push that message out there into the world and pass it on to my son, then I'm OK.
I was raised by an empowered woman. I married an empowered woman.
I'm a 34-year-old man who calls himself Scooter. That describes the vibe.
I'm a camp counselor for pop stars.
I'm a hustler. I've always been a hustler.
On his entrepreneurial drive.
I'm having fun, and I'm waking up every morning and my staff is waking up every morning looking at each
other and saying, What can we do today that would be really cool?
I cannot complain about my life.
I've had an amazing run in my career. It could end tomorrow. I have artists who love me, and
I love them, but they could call me tomorrow and say, I don't wanna work with you.
If it's achievable, there's no excuse why you shouldn't be doing it.
If my ambition was to stay a manager the rest of my life, then I'd probably follow what
people think managers are supposed to be like, but my ambition was never to be a manager.
If that day come, and artists I've had incredible runs with just break my heart one day, you know what? I still got to do
stuff that was actually really incredible. When that day comes, I'll deal with it. Until then, I'll be grateful for today.
If you can help someone become a good young woman or a good young man, they have a better chance of surviving in this business.
If you don't tell your story, someone else will tell it for you.
If you really love someone, you can't be angry if they don't love you the same way. You got to
just love them because you love them, not because you're expecting anything back in return.
If you really love someone, you push them.
If you watch Justin's early videos, I never let him say, My name is Justin Bieber,
and then start singing - he always just sang. And
the reason I did that was I wanted you to feel like you were in the room. Or maybe you were seeing something you weren't supposed to see.
If you're not going to do it to the best of your ability, then don't do it at all.
It's not about being right, it's about doing the right thing.
A principle he has expressed in various contexts.
Justin Bieber was born with the Superman powers. He could sing, he could dance, he could play instruments. I wasn't born with those gifts,
so I had to become a different kind of superhero... I'm a normal Joe. But, with a lot of effort, I've got a shot at being Bruce Wayne.
Kanye's the best listener I've ever worked with. If I interrupt Kanye, every single time, he'll wait for me to finish before speaking.
It's a running joke - sometimes I interrupt him just to see. And he always goes, No, no, finish. I want to hear what you have to say.
Life is too short for grudges. We're all just trying to find our way.
From social media posts on perspective.
Longevity is about learning when to evolve.
Ludacris is one of the best people in the world, and I've known him since I was 19 years old.
My brother and I made a pact that every deal we do has to have a charitable component; otherwise, we don't do it.
My circle includes some of the most influential people in the world. They all
occasionally suffer from depression. Our DNA is built to serve and interact, not be worshipped.
My company motto is Inspire the world to try.
My grandfather died when I was 14, and he was in Bergen-Belsen and Dachau. So be grateful for your
life because nothing is guaranteed. Everything could literally be taken away from you tomorrow.
My gut is my No. 1 asset. I also like to draw from a lot of people, and I ask a lot of questions. I'll literally show my ideas
to 500 different people and get their opinions, and, in the end, after digesting all their opinions, I just trust my gut.
My job is making irrational people do rational things.
My job is not to be the star — my job is to help stars shine.
My job is to make sure a client doesn't have any 'what if's - to make sure, when you
look back, you don't say, What if I had done this? What if I had done that?
My wife deals with real problems. My problems aren't problems - they're inconveniences.
None of us are made to be worshipped, and when we take that in, we get sick.
People don't buy products, they buy meaning.
People like to shy away from comparisons. Personally, I think that's a mistake. Comparisons can be good. People like to
compartmentalize things within their own heads, and helping them do that can actually be a positive thing for the brand you're trying to build.
People told me I was nuts when I went to sign an act from YouTube - and now, that's one of the most conventional things you can do as an agent or manager.
Relationships are the real currency.
Sometimes the only way to realize what a foolish purchase is is to make one.
Success amplifies who you already are.
The biggest pieces of my business are not public. Maybe I'll tell all the details when I'm 50 or 60.
The goal was never to be famous. The goal was to be successful.
On his career motivation in the music industry.
The minute you think you've made it, you're done.
On maintaining drive and humility.
The moment our youth succeed, we try to figure out how to tear them down.
The music business is really a people business.
The only real failure is giving up.
The only way you'll find out something is to fail because you only need one success to be successful.
The really great brands live on this idea of bringing something that's truly authentic - and then building
around that. It's not about trying to be something as much as it being who you are in the best light possible.
There are a lot of great albums that take a year to connect.
There were 10 to 12 years where I averaged two to three hours of sleep a night. There were times when I didn't go to
sleep for two days, but I'd usually crash one Sunday a month for 16 to 18 straight hours, and then I'd be rejuvenated.
There's no shortcut to trust.
We aren't made to be worshipped as humans. I think that is why we see so many great artists crumble, because as humans, we are made to serve each other.
We had the opportunity to acquire Taylor's catalog, and we did it. It felt like a major career milestone.
On the 2019 acquisition of Big Machine Label Group.
What has now become conventional in terms of digital marketing and the discovery of new talent was once very unconventional - and people forget that.
What I do for a living is so high-risk that I try to make sure my portfolio is as conservative as possible.
What is now commonplace was once not, and I think that's a testament to what it means to really break the mold and push the limits.
What you see is what you get with me.
When I look at acts, I look at the worldwide potential. And what travels wide is melody.
When I was 25, I had risked everything to launch Justin Bieber and was a couple months away from losing everything.
Where I've been able to be successful in our company's path is the fact that people think
that we kill it, because they don't see our failures. Because we don't talk about them.
You can't manage creativity — you can only support it.
You have to bet on yourself. No one is going to believe in you if you don't believe in you first.
On self-confidence and entrepreneurship.
Last on Earth
