Sia & Illy weigh in as Swift vs Braun battle rumbles on

Don’t put away the popcorn just yet.

The music industry at large has this week been engulfed by a conversation started by Taylor Swift about Scott Borchetta, Big Machine Records, Scooter Braun, and issues of music ownership.

Swift hit out at Borchetta’s decision to sell Big Machine Label Group (which owns the masters rights for her first six albums) to Scooter Braun, whom she accused of bullying.

For his part, Borchetta claimed Swift knew about the deal ahead of time and wasn’t aware of her issues with Braun.

Industry heavyweights across the globe have shared their opinions on the matter, including Justin Bieber (who Braun manages) and Halsey (who pledged her allegiance to the Swift camp).

Now several Aussie acts have joined the conversation.

Sia tweeted; “You’re a good kind man @scooterbaun I hope this passes quickly. I love you keep going.”

https://twitter.com/Sia/status/1145878680477954048

The tweet copped a heavy backlash on Twitter, with many calling her out for “supporting the bad guys” and being on “the wrong side of the story”.

Aussie rapper Illy has also weighed in, choosing to focus on wider problems facing those in the industry not as rich or fortunate as Swift.

“No shade to Taylor Swift or her fans, but if that’s how one of the biggest, most obscenely wealthy, most well rewarded for her work, artists of the last decade feels she’s being treated, wait til you hear the horror stories from the rest of us,” he tweeted.

Following some negative responses, he clarified his point, saying “most of you reading this didn’t care about artists being exploited few days ago, and in a few weeks will YOU be advocating for change to prevent this happening to others? My guess is probably not.”

https://twitter.com/illyal/status/1146148839658676224

For the record, it doesn’t appear that Swift has any legal recourse over Borchetta’s decision to sell her catalogue.

Beyond that, it seems like the he said/she said of it all is far from over.

Billboard reports that Taylor Swift’s attorney Don Passman has since claimed that Borchetta “never gave Taylor Swift an opportunity to purchase her masters, or the label, outright with a check in the way he is now apparently doing for others.”

Sources connected to Braun told The Blast that the manager tried to reach out to arrange a “mature and private” phone call with Swift after she first addressed the sale publicly, but she refused to speak with him.