Scooter Braun facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Scooter Braun
Braun in 2022
Born	Scott Samuel Braun (1981-06-18) June 18, 1981 (age 44) New York City, U.S.
Education	Emory University (no degree)
Occupation	record executive businessman investor
Years active	2002–present
Organization	Hybe, SB Projects, TQ Ventures
Label(s)	Big Machine RBMG SB Projects School Boy
Title	Board member at Hybe America Founder of School Boy Records and co-founder of Raymond-Braun Media Group (RBMG)
Spouse(s)	Yael Cohen ​ ​ (m. 2014; div. 2022)​
Children	3
Signature

Scott "Scooter" Braun, born on June 18, 1981, is an American businessman and investor. He is well-known as a record executive, which means he helps guide the careers of music artists.

Scooter Braun is famous for discovering and managing Canadian singer Justin Bieber in 2008. His success with Justin and other artists led him to create companies like RBMG Records and SB Projects. These companies are now part of Hybe Corporation, where he is a board member and senior advisor. Braun also managed many other popular artists, including Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato, and J Balvin. He stopped managing artists in 2024 to focus on other roles.

Braun also started Schoolboy Records and co-founded investment firms like TQ Ventures and Mythos Studios. He also founded Ithaca Holdings. In 2019, Ithaca Holdings bought Big Machine Records, which led to a well-known disagreement with singer Taylor Swift about her music recordings.

Early Life and Education

Scooter Braun was born in New York City. His parents, Ervin and Susan Braun, were dentists. His grandparents moved to the United States from Hungary in 1956.

Braun grew up in Cos Cob, Connecticut, and has four siblings. He went to Greenwich High School, where he was elected class president. He later attended Emory University in Atlanta. He played college basketball there for two years before leaving to start his music career.

Career in Music and Entertainment

Braun started his career by organizing parties while he was in college. In 2002, he was hired to plan after-parties for a big music tour featuring artists like Ludacris and Eminem. He then met Jermaine Dupri, who offered him a job as an executive director of marketing for So So Def Records.

Braun organized parties for major events, including the 2003 NBA All-Star Game. He left So So Def in 2005. Soon after, he helped arrange a large deal between Ludacris and Pontiac cars. He also worked as an entertainment consultant for the Atlanta Hawks basketball team.

Discovering New Talent

In 2008, Braun found Justin Bieber, who was 13 years old at the time. He saw a video of Bieber singing on YouTube by accident. Braun convinced Bieber's mother to bring him to Atlanta to record songs and meet R&B singer Usher. Both Usher and Justin Timberlake were interested in signing Bieber. Justin Bieber eventually signed with Island Def Jam, working with Raymond-Braun Media Group (RBMG). This was a company started by Braun and Usher.

In 2013, Braun also signed Ariana Grande to his management company. He went on to manage many other artists, including Psy, Carly Rae Jepsen, Martin Garrix, and Kanye West. In 2024, he decided to stop managing artists directly. This allowed him to focus on his role as CEO of Hybe America.

Hybe America and Global Music

From 2021, Braun was the chief executive officer (CEO) of Hybe America. This is the North American part of the South Korean entertainment company Hybe Corporation. In 2025, he moved to a role as a board member and senior advisor for Hybe.

In April 2021, Hybe announced it would buy Ithaca Holdings, Braun's company, for about $1.05 billion. As part of this deal, Braun became CEO of Hybe America. He also joined Hybe's board of directors. Many long-time staff members and artists like Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande received stock as part of the sale.

In May 2022, Braun met with the K-pop group BTS and US President Joe Biden at the White House. They talked about the rise in hate crimes against Asian people. In 2023, Hybe bought Quality Control Music for $300 million, with Braun overseeing the deal.

Dispute with Taylor Swift

In 2019, Braun's company, Ithaca Holdings, bought Big Machine Label Group. This purchase included the original recordings (called "masters") of the first six albums by singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. Taylor Swift spoke out against this sale. She said she was not given a fair chance to buy her masters back.

In 2020, Ithaca Holdings sold these album masters to Shamrock Holdings for $405 million. As of 2023, Braun had made nearly $400 million from this deal. In May 2025, Taylor Swift gained the rights to her first six albums.

Film and Television Work

Braun has also worked in film and television. He produced Never Say Never, a documentary about Justin Bieber. This film earned over $100 million worldwide.

He was also an executive producer for the TV comedy series Dave. The first season of Dave was the most-watched comedy show for the FX channel. Braun's company, SB Projects, has also worked on projects for Netflix, Hulu, and Fox.

SB Projects

In 2007, Braun started SB Projects. This company handles entertainment and marketing. It includes Schoolboy Records and SB Management. SB Projects also worked on big advertising campaigns and tour sponsorships. For example, they helped Justin Bieber get a deal with Calvin Klein for his 2016-2017 Purpose World Tour. They also helped arrange a partnership between Kanye West and the sneaker brand Adidas.

Braun (left) onstage at TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2019 with Matthew "Nadeshot" Haag and TechCrunch Editor Jordon Crook

Investments

Braun is a partner in the investment firm TQ Ventures. He was one of the first people to invest in companies like Uber, Spotify, Waze, and Dropbox. His investments helped his net worth grow to over $1 billion in 2021.

Awards and Recognition

Scooter Braun has received many awards for his work.

• In 2012, he received an ACLU Bill of Rights award.
• In 2013, he was named one of the "Time 100" most influential people in the world by Time magazine.
• He was nominated for Grammy awards for his work on Justin Bieber's albums Purpose (2017) and Justice (2022).
• In 2017, he helped organize One Love Manchester, a benefit concert. This concert raised money for victims of the Manchester Arena bombing that happened after an Ariana Grande concert.
• In 2018, he received the Harry Chapin Memorial Humanitarian Award and the Save the Children's Humanitarian Award for his charity work.
• In 2021, Variety magazine named him "Music Mogul of the Year."

Philanthropy and Charity Work

Braun is very involved in charity work through the Braun Family Foundation. He also helps his brother Adam's charity, Pencils of Promise. This charity builds schools and provides education in developing countries.

As of 2017, Braun and his companies had granted more wishes for the Make-A-Wish Foundation than any other organization in its history. He received the Humanitarian Award at the 2016 Billboard Touring Awards for his support of various charities.

Braun also helped organize the charity single "Stuck with U" by Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande. The money from this song went to the First Responders Children's Foundation. This foundation helps children of first responders and healthcare workers who worked during the pandemic. In 2023, Braun joined the board of directors for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

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

Personal Life

In 2013, Scooter Braun started dating Yael Cohen. They got married on July 6, 2014, in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada. They have three children: two sons born in 2015 and 2016, and a daughter born in 2018. Braun filed for divorce in July 2021, and their divorce was finalized in September 2022.

Filmography

See also

In Spanish: Scooter Braun para niños