• Home
  • News
  • Fortune 500
  • Tech
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
Arts & EntertainmentTaylor Swift

Taylor Swift Questions Future of AMAs Performance, Other Projects Amid Battle With Big Machine

By
Andrew Dalton
Andrew Dalton
and
The Associated Press
The Associated Press
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Andrew Dalton
Andrew Dalton
and
The Associated Press
The Associated Press
Down Arrow Button Icon
November 15, 2019, 10:56 AM ET
Taylor Swift
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JULY 10: Taylor Swift performs onstage as Taylor Swift, Dua Lipa, SZA and Becky G perform at The Prime Day concert, presented by Amazon Music at on July 10, 2019 at Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Amazon )Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for Amazon

Taylor Swift said Thursday that she may not perform at the American Music Awards and may have to put other projects including a forthcoming Netflix documentary on hold because the men who own her old recordings won’t allow her to play her songs.

“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,” Swift said on Twitter and Instagram.

Swift said she had planned to play a medley of her hits when she’s named Artist of the Decade at the American Music Awards on Nov. 24, but the men who own the music, Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta, are calling the television performance an illegal re-recording.

READ MORE: How Taylor Swift’s plan to re-record her early songs could work

“I just want to be able to perform MY OWN music. That’s it,” Swift said. “I’ve tried to work out this out privately through my team but have not been able to resolve anything.”

The Big Machine Label Group said in a statement Friday that “at no point did we say Taylor could not perform on the AMAs or block her Netflix special. In fact, we do not have the right to keep her from performing live anywhere.’’

The 29-year-old singer-songwriter has loudly spoken out against her old master recordings falling into the hands of the music manager Braun, who bought them by acquiring Borchetta’s Big Machine Label Group in June. Swift has used the sale and its aftermath to publicly advocate for the rights of artists and to further a feud with the two men.

Swift said in the posts that Borchetta has told her he will allow the projects to go forward if she drops plans to record copycat versions of her older songs next year, which Swift says she plans to do and has the legal right to, and if she stops her public trashing of the two men.

“The message being sent to me is very clear,” Swift said. Basically, be a good little girl and shut up. Or you’ll be punished.”

A message seeking comment from the AMAs was not returned.

Swift called on her legion of fans to put pressure on Braun and Borchetta to allow her performance and other projects to go forward.

That ignited social media, with the hashtags “IStandWithTaylor” and “FreeTaylor” trending worldwide on Twitter.

The Big Machine Label Group countered that Swift owes millions of dollars to it and has created a narrative that “does not exist.” Big Machine also criticized Swift for enlisting her fans and asked her to engage in “direct and honest conversation” with it.

She also urged her fellow artists, some of whom include Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber are managed by Braun, to speak out and speak to him.

Swift said she’s especially asking for help from the Carlyle Group, the private equity firm that financed the sale.

The Netflix documentary, which has chronicled the last few years of her life, was previously unannounced.

“This isn’t the way I planned on telling you this news,” Swift said.

More must-read stories from Fortune:

—A new documentary about the National Enquirer aims to serve as a cautionary tale
—The Man in the High Castle team on its final season
—Wrongful Conviction podcast visits Rodney Reed on death row
—A new documentary on “The Preppy Murder” examines victim blaming and privilege
—Inside the Oscars’ self-inflicted Best Foreign-Language Film headache
Follow Fortune on Flipboard to stay up-to-date on the latest news and analysis.

About the Authors
By Andrew Dalton
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
By The Associated Press
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Arts & Entertainment

Big TechSpotify
Spotify users lamented Wrapped in 2024. This year, the company brought back an old favorite and made it less about AI
By Dave Lozo and Morning BrewDecember 4, 2025
8 hours ago
RoboCop
Arts & EntertainmentDetroit
Detroit’s bizarre romance with its very own RoboCop statue reaches happy ending, 15 years after love/hate crowdfunding campaign kicked it off
By Corey Williams, Mike Householder and The Associated PressDecember 4, 2025
8 hours ago
Erika Kirk
PoliticsMedia
Bari Weiss to moderate prime-time ‘town hall’ with Erika Kirk on CBS News
By The Associated PressDecember 4, 2025
9 hours ago
Zaslav
Arts & EntertainmentMedia
Paramount calls Warner Bros. sale ‘tainted’ in letter to CEO
By Christopher Palmeri and BloombergDecember 4, 2025
13 hours ago
Cropper
Arts & EntertainmentObituary
Steve Cropper, legendary guitarist on Memphis classics from ‘Green Onions’ to ‘In the Midnight Hour,’ dies at 84
By Adrian Sainz and The Associated PressDecember 4, 2025
15 hours ago
christmas
Arts & EntertainmentSpotify
From Spotify Wrapped to YouTube Recap to Amazon Delivered, the holidays are becoming a time of year for our tech to tell us who we are
By The Associated PressDecember 4, 2025
15 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Economy
Two months into the new fiscal year and the U.S. government is already spending more than $10 billion a week servicing national debt
By Eleanor PringleDecember 4, 2025
18 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
‘Godfather of AI’ says Bill Gates and Elon Musk are right about the future of work—but he predicts mass unemployment is on its way
By Preston ForeDecember 4, 2025
13 hours ago
placeholder alt text
North America
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos commit $102.5 million to organizations combating homelessness across the U.S.: ‘This is just the beginning’
By Sydney LakeDecember 2, 2025
3 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Nearly 4 million new manufacturing jobs are coming to America as boomers retire—but it's the one trade job Gen Z doesn't want
By Emma BurleighDecember 4, 2025
14 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang admits he works 7 days a week, including holidays, in a constant 'state of anxiety' out of fear of going bankrupt
By Jessica CoacciDecember 4, 2025
13 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Health
Bill Gates decries ‘significant reversal in child deaths’ as nearly 5 million kids will die before they turn 5 this year
By Nick LichtenbergDecember 4, 2025
1 day ago
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.