Scooter Braun retires from music management after 23 years, says he has 'nothing but love' for clients

The industry mogul unofficially stepped back from managing top clients like Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande last year.

After 23 years, Scooter Braun is retiring from music management.

The entrepreneur and record executive, 42, made the announcement on Monday, sharing that he is stepping back to focus on his position as CEO of HYBE America and on his family. It comes after he unofficially stepped back from managing top artists such as Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande, both cited as the artists who kickstarted his career in the late 2000s, last year.

"It’s a strange feeling because I think I have wanted this for a while, but I was truly afraid to answer the question 'who would I be without them?'" Braun mused in his lengthy statement. "I was really just 19 years old when I started. So for my entire adult life I played the role of an artist manager on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And for 20 years I loved it. It’s all I had known."

Related: Scooter Braun shares his 'regret' after purchasing Taylor Swift's music catalog

"But as my children got older, and my personal Iife took some hits, I came to the realization that my kids were 3 superstars I wasn’t willing to lose," he added. "The sacrifices I was once willing to make I could no longer justify. It was time to step into a new role."

Braun said he had been "heading towards this destination" over the past two years, "but it wasn’t until last summer that this new chapter became a reality." He wrote, "One of my biggest clients and friends told me that they wanted to spread their wings and go in a new direction. We had been through so much together over the last decade, but instead of being hurt I saw it as a sign. You see, life doesn’t hand you YOUR plan, it hands you GOD’s plan."

"I have nothing but love for those I have worked with over the years, and as we develop a different working relationship, I will always be in their corner to consult and support them whether it be directly or from afar," he added. "Every client I have had the privilege of working with has changed my life, and I know many of them are just beginning to see the success they deserve. I will cheer for every single one of them."

Braun launched SB Projects, which specialized in marketing, talent management and television and film production, in 2007. Other notable clientele have included the likes of Kanye West, Demi Lovato, Kelly Rowland, J Balvin, and Carly Rae Jepsen. An industry tycoon who has made TIME's most influential list, Braun's reputation took a hit when he acquired the rights to the first six of Taylor Swift's discography in 2019 via his purchase of Big Machine Record Group, resulting in an exhaustive feud between the two and Swift re-recording the albums to regain the rights to her old music from the man she called a "manipulative bully."

Swift has since released the Taylor's Version (TV) of four of her previous albums: Fearless, Red, Speak Now, and 1989. Fans are eagerly awaiting the release of Reputation (Taylor's Version) next.

Related: Kelly Clarkson says Scooter Braun called her manager when she told Taylor Swift to re-record music

Braun will also continue to be involved in his Braun Foundation. He shares three children with ex-wife Yael Cohen.

Read Braun's full statement announcing his retirement above.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.