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Midnights, the stories of 13 sleepless nights scattered throughout my life, will be out October 21. Meet me at midnight.

For years I asked, pleaded for a chance to own my work. Instead I was given an opportunity to sign back up to Big Machine Records and ‘earn’ one album back at a time, one for every new one I turned in. I walked away because I knew once I signed that contract, Scott Borchetta would sell the label, thereby selling me and my future. I had to make the excruciating choice to leave behind my past. Music I wrote on my bedroom floor and videos I dreamed up and paid for from the money I earned playing in bars, then clubs, then arenas, then stadiums. 

Some fun facts about today’s news: I learned about Scooter Braun’s purchase of my masters as it was announced to the world. All I could think about was the incessant, manipulative bullying I’ve received at his hands for years. 

Like when Kim Kardashian orchestrated an illegally recorded snippet of a phone call to be leaked and then Scooter got his two clients together to bully me online about it. (See photo) Or when his client, Kanye West, organized a revenge porn music video which strips my body naked. Now Scooter has stripped me of my life’s work, that I wasn’t given an opportunity to buy. Essentially, my musical legacy is about to lie in the hands of someone who tried to dismantle it.

This is my worst case scenario. This is what happens when you sign a deal at fifteen to someone for whom the term ‘loyalty’ is clearly just a contractual concept. And when that man says ‘Music has value’, he means its value is beholden to men who had no part in creating it. 

When I left my masters in Scott’s hands, I made peace with the fact that eventually he would sell them. Never in my worst nightmares did I imagine the buyer would be Scooter. Any time Scott Borchetta has heard the words ‘Scooter Braun’ escape my lips, it was when I was either crying or trying not to. He knew what he was doing; they both did. Controlling a woman who didn’t want to be associated with them. In perpetuity. That means forever. 

Thankfully, I am now signed to a label that believes I should own anything I create. Thankfully, I left my past in Scott’s hands and not my future. And hopefully, young artists or kids with musical dreams will read this and learn about how to better protect themselves in a negotiation. You deserve to own the art you make.

I will always be proud of my past work. But for a healthier option, Lover will be out August 23. 

Sad and grossed out,

💔

Aries sun: competes with others when they feel inferior Aries moon: competes with themselves when they feel inferior Aries Rising: competes with the world when they feel inferior

Taurus sun: obtains for others when they feel incomplete Taurus moon: obtains for themselves when they feel incomplete Taurus Rising: obtains for the world when they feel incomplete

Gemini sun: moves on from others when they’re bored Gemini moon: moves on from themselves when they’re bored Gemini Rising: moves on from the world when they’re bored

Cancer sun: nurtures others when they feel unsafe Cancer moon: nurtures themselves when they feel unsafe Cancer Rising: nurtures the world when they feel unsafe

Leo sun: entertains others when they feel insecure Leo moon: entertains themselves when they feel insecure Leo Rising: entertains the world when they feel insecure

Virgo sun: improves others when they feel imperfect Virgo moon: improves themselves when they feel imperfect Virgo Rising: improves the world when they feel imperfect

Libra sun: mediates others’ conflicts when they need peace Libra moon: mediates their own conflicts when they need peace Libra Rising: mediates the world’s conflicts when they need peace

Scorpio sun: unearths others when they crave change Scorpio moon: unearths themselves when they crave change Scorpio Rising: unearths the world when they crave change

Sagittarius sun: runs from others when they feel confined Sagittarius moon: runs from themselves when they feel confined Sagittarius Rising: runs from the world when they feel confined

Capricorn sun: shuts out others when they feel unsteady Capricorn moon: shuts out themselves when they feel unsteady Capricorn Rising: shuts out the world when they feel unsteady

Aquarius sun: reinvents others when they’re inspired Aquarius moon: reinvents themselves when they’re inspired Aquarius Rising: reinvents the world when they’re inspired