Scooter Braun

Early life

Braun was born in New York City to Conservative Jewish parents, Ervin and Susan () Braun. After the couple married, they settled in Cos Cob, Connecticut.

Braun has four siblings. He attended Greenwich High School, where he was elected class president.

Career

Braun began organizing parties while studying at Emory. He subsequently met Jermaine Dupri, the founder of So So Def Records, who offered him a job as So So Def's executive director of marketing. Events organized by Braun in this era included parties for the 2003 NBA All-Star Game and after-parties for Britney Spears' 2004 Onyx Hotel Tour. in 2005, and a few weeks later brokered a $12 million campaign deal between Ludacris and Pontiac. After the Pontiac deal, Braun was hired as an entertainment consultant for the Atlanta Hawks.

In 2008, Braun scouted Bieber, then 13, after accidentally clicking on a YouTube video of Bieber singing. Braun urged Bieber's mother, Pattie Mallette, to bring her son to Atlanta to record demos and meet R&B singer Usher. He eventually convinced them to move permanently from Canada to the United States. Both Usher and Justin Timberlake expressed interest in signing Bieber, who ultimately signed with Island Def Jam in partnership with Raymond-Braun Media Group (RBMG), a joint venture between Braun and Usher. Braun signed Ariana Grande to his management label in 2013.

Braun also managed Psy, Tori Kelly, Carly Rae Jepsen, Martin Garrix, Kanye West, Black Eyed Peas, David Guetta, Lil Dicky, and others. He acquired half of the management companies of Jason Owens’ Sandbox Entertainment, Morris Higham, Brandon Creed, Troy Carter, and a partnership with Future and Drake. In 2024, he retired from artist management to focus on the HYBE-America CEO role. Starting in 2021, Braun served as chief executive officer (CEO) of Hybe America, the North American subsidiary of South Korean entertainment company Hybe Corporation until he moved to a board member and senior advisor role in 2025.

Film and television

Braun produced Never Say Never, a documentary about Bieber that MTV reported in 2011 as "one of the highest grossing music documentaries in domestic box-office history". The film's budget was $13 million and earned over $100 million worldwide. Braun was the executive producer of Burden, Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil, The Giver, The Boy from Medellin, and Project Runway among others. In 2018, Variety reported that FX had ordered a pilot of Dave, a comedy executive-produced by Braun that included actor Kevin Hart and rapper Lil Dicky. In its first season, Dave was the most-watched show in FX history. In July 2019, SB Projects signed a first-look deal with Amazon Studios that included television and film scripts. Braun's SB Projects has also had film and television projects at Netflix, Hulu, and Fox.

SB Projects

In 2007, Braun established SB Projects, an entertainment and marketing company that encompassed ventures including Schoolboy Records, SB Management, and Sheba Publishing, a music publishing firm. The group also included RBMG, a joint venture between Braun and Usher. School Boy Records was founded as a joint venture with Universal Music Publishing Group. In early 2013, Braun signed Ariana Grande.

SB Projects has handled television campaigns, branding, music-licensing deals, and tour sponsorships, including Bieber's Calvin Klein endorsement for the 2016-2017 Purpose World Tour. The company also brokered a partnership between Kanye West and sneaker brand Adidas.

Ithaca Holdings, Hybe

Ithaca Holdings, Braun's holding company that includes SB Projects, raised $120 million in venture capital in 2010.

In April 2021, South Korean company Hybe announced that it would acquire Ithaca Holdings via the subsidiary Hybe America in a deal estimated to be around $1.05 billion. As part of the sale, Braun became Hybe America's CEO and joined Hybe's board of directors. Long-time staffers were gifted $50 million in stock from Braun's personal allotment, with artists Bieber and Grande receiving $10 million each. On May 31, 2022, Braun met with BTS and US President Joe Biden at the White House to discuss the recent rise in anti-Asian hate crimes. Braun and Clive Davis presented Hybe's Chairman Bang Si-Hyuk with the Visionary award at Billboard's Power 100 Party in 2023.

In 2023, Hybe acquired Quality Control Music for $300 million, with Kevin “Coach K” Lee and Pierre “P” Thomas maintaining control of the label under Braun. In 2025, Braun partnered Hybe America with Jermaine Dupri's So So Def to launch new music and cooperate on distribution and marketing.

Dispute with Taylor Swift

In 2019, Ithaca acquired Big Machine Label Group in a purchase that included the masters to the first six albums of singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, who denounced the transfer of ownership of Big Machine album masters and denied the claims by Big Machine's former president, Scott Borchetta, who said that she declined an opportunity to buy the masters.

A minority shareholder in Ithaca, the label's founder Scott Borchetta remained with the company as its CEO. In 2020, Ithaca Holdings sold the album masters to Shamrock Holdings for a reported $405 million, earning Ithaca $265 million. In May 2025, Swift acquired the rights to her first six albums.

Mythos Studios

In 2018, The New York Times reported that Braun had joined David Maisel, founding chairman of Marvel Studios to form Mythos Studios to produce comic book movie franchises in live-action and animated formats.

Investments

Braun is a partner in the investment firm TQ Ventures. He was an early investor in Uber, Spotify, Waze, DropBox, Pinterest, Lyft, Ro, Noom, Liquid I.V., among others. The acquisition of his holdings company, Ithaca, brought Braun's net worth beyond $1 billion in 2021.

Awards

In 2012, Braun was awarded an ACLU Bill of Rights award. In 2013, Braun was included in the annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world. He also appeared a second time on the cover of Billboard in its April 20, 2013, issue, alongside Guy Oseary and Troy Carter.

Braun was nominated for Grammy awards for his work as a producer and songwriter on Bieber's albums Purpose in 2017 and Justice in 2022. In 2017, he appeared on the cover of Variety magazine's Hitmakers. With Grande, Simon Moran, and Melvin Benn, he organized One Love Manchester, a June 14 benefit concert and British television special in response to the Manchester Arena bombing after Grande's concert two weeks earlier.

In 2018, Braun received the Harry Chapin Memorial Humanitarian Award for his philanthropic efforts in 2017. He also received the Save the Children's Humanitarian Award that year.

ln 2019 he was inducted into the Midem Hall of Fame. In 2020, Fortune named him to its "40 Under 40" list in media and entertainment. In 2024, Braun was honored by the Anti-Defamation League for his role in the Nova Festival Exhibit in New York City.

Politics

Braun hosted a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton at his home in 2015. In 2019, he hosted a fundraiser for the Kamala Harris 2020 presidential campaign. He supported developer Rick Caruso in the 2022 Los Angeles mayoral election.

During the Gaza war, Braun expressed support for both the release of Israeli hostages and relief for Palestinians. In December 2023, Braun spoke at a rally in Tel Aviv's Hostages Square, and featured the mother of an Israeli hostage in a video posted to his Instagram calling for the music industry to spread awareness on the issue.

Philanthropy

Braun is involved in various charities including the Braun Family Foundation. He also assists with his brother Adam's charity, Pencils of Promise. Billboard reported that as of 2017, Braun—along with his then-clients and companies—had granted more wishes for the Make-A-Wish Foundation than any other organization in the history of the foundation. He received the Humanitarian Award at the 2016 Billboard Touring Awards for his philanthropic support of Pencils of Promise, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and Fuck Cancer. Braun and actor George Clooney held significant roles in March for Our Lives and aided in fundraising efforts behind the scenes. In 2017, Braun was an organizer of Hand in Hand, a telethon which raised $55 million for relief efforts related to Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma.

Braun coordinated the charity single, "Stuck with U" by Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande, which benefitted the First Responders Children's Foundation to fund grants and scholarships for children of first responders and health care workers that worked on the front lines during the pandemic. In 2023, Braun joined the board of directors of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

In March 2024, Braun launched a fundraising project with Care.org and the Hostages and Missing Families Forum in Israel.

Personal life

In 2013, Braun began dating Yael Cohen. The couple wed on July 6, 2014, in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada, at Cohen's parents' house. They had a son in 2015, another son in 2016, and a daughter in 2018. Braun filed for divorce in July 2021, which was finalized in September 2022. He is in a relationship with Sydney Sweeney as of November 2025.

Filmography

References

References

1. (January 25, 2023). "Scooter Braun Reportedly Becomes Sole Hybe America CEO As K-Pop's Global Expansion Continues". Digital Music News.
2. (February 10, 2020). "Scooter Braun Invests in European Cannabis as Region Opens Up". Bloomberg.
3. "From YouTube to Superstar: The Role of Scooter Braun in Justin Bieber's Success". Wavy magazine.
4. (April 28, 2009). "Usher Introduces Teen Singer Justin Bieber".
5. DiGiacomo, Frank. (2025-01-27). "Billboard 2025 Power 100 List Revealed".
6. "Scooter Braun, David Maisel Form Mythos Studios".
7. Olson, Samantha. (February 16, 2024). "Taylor Swift and Scooter Braun's Drama, Explained".
8. Lev, David. "Young Bieber Gets a Firsthand Lesson in Israeli Politics". [[Arutz 7]].
9. (January 8, 2022). "How Scooter Braun Became a Billionaire by Helping Others Find Their Place". Grazia magazine.
10. Hodenfield, Chris. (December 2010). "Brains & Braun". Greenwich Magazine.
11. Halperin, Shirley. (November 22, 2010). "The Brains Behind Bieber: A Conversation with Scooter Braun". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
12. Duffy, Thom. (August 22, 2009). "30 Under Thirty 2009".
13. Halperin, Shirley. (February 9, 2011). "Justin Bieber Cover: The Team and Strategy Behind Making Him a Star". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
14. (2020-10-21). "Spotify Inks Podcast First-Look Deal With Scooter Braun's Ithaca, Kicking Off With Graham Bunn Country Music Series".
15. "Talent manager Scooter Braun is in a very public feud with Taylor Swift. Here are 29 of his biggest clients.". Insider.
16. Mahadevan, Tara. (June 17, 2024). "Scooter Braun Retiring From Management, Reflects on 23 Years Working With Superstars Like Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande".
17. (December 23, 2015). "Here's a Brand Name: Scooter Braun". The New York Times.
18. Herrera, Monica. (March 19, 2010). "Justin Bieber – The Billboard Cover Story".
19. "Justin Bieber's 'Never Say Never' Is Third-Highest-Grossing Documentary of All Time". MTV.
20. (November 22, 2017). "Scooter Braun's Movie Business Expanding Well Beyond Justin Bieber". Variety magazine.
21. "Scooter Braun is best known for Bieber, but 'Scorpion' is his real breakout hit". Washington Post.
22. (May 31, 2018). "FX Orders Lil Dicky Comedy Pilot With Kevin Hart, Scooter Braun Producing". Variety.
23. (May 11, 2020). "'Dave' Renewed For Season 2 As It Becomes FX Networks' Highest Ranked Comedy Series Ever". Deadline.
24. (April 2020). "'Dave' On Track To Surpass 'Atlanta' As FX's Most Watched Comedy Series As It Awaits Season 2 Renewal". Deadline.
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26. "SB Projects - Music". scooterbraun.com.
27. La Puma, Joe. (February 9, 2015). "No Ceilings: Inside Scooter Braun's Growing Empire". [[Complex (magazine).
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29. (February 12, 2016). "EXCLUSIVE: The Real Reason Ariana Grande Fired Scooter Braun as Her Manager".
30. Fekadu, Mesfin. (2023-08-22). "Source: Idina Menzel Is No Longer Being Managed by Scooter Braun (Exclusive)".
31. (2023-08-22). "Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato, & J Balvin Drop Scooter Braun Management; Justin Bieber Denies Report He's Leaving Too".
32. Frank, Jason P.. (2023-08-21). "Everybody's Getting Off the Scooter".
33. Richards, Will. (2023-08-25). "Carly Rae Jepsen becomes latest artist to part ways with Scooter Braun".
34. (2023-08-18). "Justin Bieber and Scooter Braun Have Not Parted Ways, Still Working Together (Exclusive) {{!}} Entertainment Tonight".
35. (November 22, 2017). "Meet the Six Key Execs Who Help Scooter Braun Care for Roster of Clients".
36. "Kanye West and Manager Scooter Braun Part Ways Professionally".
37. Otterson, Joe. (2021-08-05). "Scooter Braun's SB Projects Extends First-Look Deal With Amazon (EXCLUSIVE)".
38. "Meet the Powerhouse Behind Justin Bieber's Success".
39. "Scooter Braun's Hit Factory". The Wall Street Journal.
40. (June 12, 2018). "Scooter Braun Teams With JD Roth to Form Unscripted Content Studio".
41. Andreeva, Nellie. (June 12, 2018). "Scooter Braun & JD Roth Launch Unscripted Content Studio GoodStory Entertainment".
42. (June 25, 2021). "Scooter Braun Talks BTS and His Company's Future With Korean Entertainment Giant HYBE". AOL.
43. (April 3, 2021). "Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, J Balvin to See Big Paydays From Scooter Braun Mega Deal". Variety.
44. (July 2021). "BTS's HYBE Has a New C-Suite, Including Scooter Braun". Rolling Stone.
45. (April 2, 2021). "HYBE, Formerly Big Hit Entertainment, Merges With Scooter Braun's Ithaca Holdings Bringing Together BTS, Justin Bieber, Big Machine (EXCLUSIVE)". [[Variety (magazine).
46. (May 31, 2022). "BTS Speaks With President Biden About AAPI Inclusion, Anti-Asian Hate Crimes". Variety.
47. Tanaka, Stefanie. (2023-02-02). "Chairman Bang Si-Hyuk Accepts the Visionary Award From Scooter Braun & Clive Davis".
48. (February 9, 2023). "Quality Control Sold to Scooter Braun's Hybe". Pitchfork.
49. (April 13, 2025). "Jermaine Dupri Explains Deep Connection With Scooter Braun That Led To New Deal". All HipHop.
50. (2020-11-17). "Taylor Swift Denounces Scooter Braun as Her Catalog Is Sold Again". The New York Times.
51. Grady, Constance. (July 1, 2019). "The Taylor Swift/Scooter Braun controversy, explained". [[Vox (website).
52. (July 2, 2019). "Taylor Swift, Scooter Braun feud ramps up as texts leak and stars take sides". [[The New Zealand Herald]].
53. (2023-06-22). "Scooter Braun wanted to sell Taylor Swift her masters. What happened?".
54. (June 30, 2019). "Scooter Braun's Ithaca Holdings Acquires Big Machine Label Group".
55. Beaumont-Thomas, Ben. (2019-11-22). "Scooter Braun pleads for resolution with Taylor Swift following death threats". The Guardian.
56. Knopper, Steve. (August 17, 2022). "How a Kid Flick Got Taylor Swift to Remake a Previously Off-Limits Song".
57. "The Big Bang Theory: HYBE's Chairman on K-Pop Future, the BTS Model, AI Plans and More". Billboard magazine.
58. Savage, Mark. (May 30, 2025). "Taylor Swift buys back her master recordings".
59. Coscarelli, Joe. (2018-03-27). "A New Film Studio From the Moguls Behind Justin Bieber and Marvel". The New York Times.
60. Ivie, Devon. "Justin Bieber's Manager Is Going to Make Marvel Superhero Movies". Vulture.
61. (2018-03-28). "Justin Bieber's manager Scooter Braun is making comic book movies now". NME.
62. Gruger, William. (2014-09-18). "Scooter Braun and Tiesto Invest in Splice, a Cloud-Based Music Creation Platform".
63. (August 25, 2021). "DIVE Studios Launches Mindset Audio Platform With Funding From Scooter Braun's TQ Ventures". The Hollywood Reporter.
64. (August 20, 2022). "Scooter Braun Joins Japanese Talent Show '&Audition – The Howling'". Variety.
65. (December 4, 2012). "Jane Lynch and Scooter Braun saluted at civil rights gala". Express.
66. Katzenberg, Jeffrey. (April 18, 2013). "Scooter Braun: The 100 Most Influential People in the World". [[Time (magazine).
67. Hampp, Andrew. (April 22, 2013). "How Guy Oseary, Scooter Braun and Troy Carter Are Finding the Rock Stars of Tech: Billboard Cover Story".
68. Merrill, Phillip. "Is Scooter Braun Launching A Competitor To "American Idol"?". Grammy.com.
69. (November 21, 2017). "The Secrets of Scooter Braun's Success: Compassion, Loyalty and a Golden Ear". Variety magazine.
70. (October 10, 2017). "The Ripple Effects of Gratitude". Success magazine.
71. "Scooter Braun Urges Nashville to Join Gun Control Debate at Music Biz 2018: 'Get on the Right Side of History'".
72. (November 28, 2018). "Save The Children Illumination Gala: Jennifer Garner, Kelly Ripa & More". Manhattan Digest.
73. "Scooter Braun to Keynote Midem, Receive First-Ever 'Hall of Fame' Award". Billboard.
74. "40 Under 40, Media & Entertainment".
75. (June 23, 2021). "The Braun Identity: An In-Depth Talk With the Music Mogul Who Goes by Scooter". Variety magazine.
76. (August 15, 2024). "Scooter Braun to be Honored by Anti-Defamation League for Nova Festival Exhibit". The Hollywood Reporter.
77. (July 10, 2015). "Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande's Manager to Host Hillary Clinton Fundraiser".
78. Ho, Vivian. (July 23, 2019). "Kamala Harris attended a fundraiser with Scooter Braun. Will the Taylor Swift voting bloc react?". The Guardian.
79. Adler, Dan. (July 22, 2019). "Scooter Braun's Kamala Harris Fund-Raiser Connects the Latest Pop Wars to the Democratic Primary".
80. Del Rosario, Alexandra. (2022-11-08). "Hollywood goes to the polls: See which celebrities are voting for Bass and Caruso".
81. (March 14, 2024). "Scooter Braun Launches Campaign to Help Palestinians in Gaza and Israeli Hostage Families: "You Can Do Two Things"". THR.
82. (November 19, 2023). "Scooter Braun: I light Shabbat candles for the children of Israel and of Gaza".
83. (December 23, 2023). "US record producer Scooter Braun to Tel Aviv rally: 'I found a nation of lions'".
84. "Instagram". scooterbraun.
85. Williams, Nick. "Philanthropy at the Core of Scooter Braun's Business".
86. "L.A. Clippers Foundation, Patrick Beverley and Braun Family Foundation renovate L.A. elementary school playground". National Basketball Association.
87. (June 5, 2017). "How Ariana Grande's Manchester Benefit Came Together So Quickly". The New York Times.
88. Halperin, Shirley. (July 28, 2011). "Adam Braun on Pencils of Promise and How Justin Bieber Is 'Making the World Better". The Hollywood Reporter.
89. (November 6, 2017). "Scooter Braun Receiving Humanitarian Award at Music Biz 2018".
90. (November 7, 2016). "Scooter Braun on Karma & How His Wife's Work With Cancer Patients Keeps His Problems In Perspective".
91. (September 6, 2017). "Scooter Braun, Bun B's 'Hand in Hand' Hurricane Benefit Expands to Include Irma Relief, if Needed". Variety.
92. (3 May 2020). "Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber are collaborating on a new track, and you could be in the music video". CNN.
93. (February 7, 2023). "Disney Parks Chairman Josh D'Amaro Joins the Make-A-Wish National Board of Directors". WDW Magazine.
94. Nessif, Bruna. (January 6, 2014). "Justin Bieber's Manager Scooter Braun Engaged to Yael Cohen". [[E! Online]].
95. David, Mark. (2014-11-05). "Stacey Snider Sells to Scooter Braun".
96. (2014-11-05). "Former Dreamworks CEO Sells Home To Scooter Braun".
97. Lee, Esther. (July 7, 2014). "Scooter Braun Marries Yael Cohen: Justin Bieber's Manager Wedding Pictures and Guest Details". [[Us Weekly]].
98. (July 7, 2014). "Justin Bieber's Manager Scooter Braun Marries Yael Cohen". [[E! Online]].
99. Webber, Stephanie. (February 7, 2015). "Scooter Braun, Justin Bieber's Manager, Welcomes First Child With Wife Yael Cohen". [[Us Weekly]].
100. (November 30, 2016). "Scooter Braun Welcomes Baby Boy With Wife Yael -- Find Out His Cute Name!". Entertainment Tonight.
101. (2018-12-03). "Scooter Braun, Wife Yael Cohen Welcome First Daughter".
102. (2020-01-14). "John Travolta sells Brentwood compound to Scooter Braun for $18 million".
103. James McClain. (2020-01-21). "John Travolta Quietly Sells Longtime Brentwood Compound to Scooter Braun". Variety.
104. Curto, Justin. (2021-07-21). "Scooter Braun Divorcing Wife Days After Seventh Anniversary".
105. (September 21, 2022). "Scooter Braun Finalizes Yael Cohen Divorce After Split: Details". [[Us Weekly]].
106. Bailey, Alyssa. (2025-11-04). "Sydney Sweeney’s Romance With Scooter Braun Is ‘Getting Serious’—To Their Own Surprise". [[Louis Hachette Group]].
107. Ford, Rebecca. (2015-10-23). "Scooter Braun on How Justin Bieber Inspired 'Jem and the Holograms' (Q&A)".
108. Stutz, Colin. (2016-02-25). "Scooter Braun to Creative Executive-Produce 2016 Radio Disney Music Awards".