Taylor Swift ‘blocked from using old songs’ at AMAs and in Netflix doc

Taylor Swift has claimed that the man who controversially bought her back catalogue is blocking her from performing her old songs on TV, casting doubt over an upcoming set at the American Music Awards (AMAs) and a Netflix documentary about her life.

The pop star has been embroiled in a row with music manager Scooter Braun since his company announced it had purchased her former record label – Big Machine Label Group (BMLG) – earlier this year.

She has now accused Mr Braun and BMLG founder Scott Borchetta of “exercising tyrannical control” over her by denying her the opportunity to play a medley of her previous hits at the AMAs on 24 November.

In a statement posted on her social media pages, Swift said the men were not allowing her to perform the songs on TV because “they claim that would be re-recording my music before I’m allowed to next year”.

The 29-year-old said their stance also applied to a newly-announced Netflix documentary, which she said had been filmed over the course of the “past few years”.

She said Mr Braun and Mr Borchetta had told her team she would only be allowed to use her old music, including popular tracks like Shake It Off and 22, if she agreed not to re-record it all.

Swift, who left BMLG last year and signed with Universal Music Group (UMG) to secure ownership of future work, has previously announced her intention to re-record her previous hits to gain the copyright to those tracks too.

“The message being sent to me is very clear,” she said.

“Basically, be a good little girl and shut up. Or you’ll be punished. This is WRONG. Neither of these men had a hand in the writing of these songs. They did nothing to create the relationship I have with my fans.”

Swift has issued a rallying cry to her fans in a bid to win the right to sing her old songs at the AMAs and secure the release of the Netflix documentary, which would feature old music and performance footage.

“Please let Scott Borchetta and Scooter Braun know how you feel about this,” she said.

“Scooter also manages several artists who I really believe care about other artists and their work.

“Please ask them for help with this – I’m hoping that maybe they can talk some sense into the men who are exercising tyrannical control over someone who just wants to play the music she wrote.

“I’m especially asking for help from The Carlyle Group, who put up money for the sale of my music to these two men.”

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Mr Braun, whose clients include Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande has previously denied there was “malicious intent” behind his purchase of BMLG.

Speaking on the Wide Open podcast in September, Mr Braun said: “I don’t do anything with malicious intent. I try to do things above board. I try to do the right thing. Not everyone’s going to be happy with everything that you do, and I think in the long-term – I’ve learned this over time – the truth always comes out, and I’m confident in that.”

Swift, who has alleged that Mr Braun bullied her, added: “I just want to be able to perform MY OWN music. That’s it. I’ve tried to work this out privately through my team but have not been able to resolve anything.

“Right now my performance at the AMAs, the Netflix documentary and any other recorded events I am planning to play until November 2020 are a question mark. I love you guys and I thought you should know what’s been going on.”

The 10-time Grammy winner, who is currently in a relationship with British actor Joe Alwyn, only owns the rights to her most recent album Lover – the first she has released since signing with UMG.

It was one of the biggest music releases of the year and arrived after a high-profile publicity campaign.

She is due to be crowned artist of the decade at the AMAs next Sunday.

(c) Sky News 2019: Taylor Swift ‘blocked from using old songs’ at AMAs and in Netflix doc