It looks like Taylor Swift’s decision to go public with her latest battle with Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta may have worked. After announcing last week that her old label Big Machine Label Group would not let her perform a medley of her old songs on Sunday’s American Music Awards, she has now been given permission to do so.
A statement inititally thought to be released by Big Machine and Dick Clark Productions, producer of the AMAs, says the two sides have, "come to terms on a licensing agreement that approves their artists’ performances to stream post show and for re-broadcast on mutually approved platforms. This includes the upcoming American Music Awards performances."
The statement goes on to say that Taylor (although she isn’t mentioned by name) didn’t actually need approval from her label for a live performance on TV. It adds, “Record label approval is only needed for contracted artists' audio and visual recordings and in determining how those works are distributed."
But it turns out Dick Clark Productions had nothing to do with the official statment. "At no time did Dick Clark Productions agree to create, authorize or distribute a statement in partnership with Big Machine Label Group regarding Taylor Swift’s performance at the 2019 American Music Awards,” read a statement to Rolling Stone. “Any final agreement on this matter needs to be made directly with Taylor Swift’s management team. We have no further comment.”
Meanwhile, TMZ reports that Taylor won't even have to pay to license her songs, since dick clark productions will be picking up the tab, which is pretty standard.
And, it sounds like the performance should be pretty memorable, with a source telling Hollywood Life Taylor is in the process of “figuring out what to perform and say” when she accepts are Artist of the Decade Award, noting, “it has come to a point now where she knows that it will be her most raw and real performance ever."
Source: Billboard