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Swift, 29, one of the best-selling names in pop
music, said on social media that her performance as "artist of
the decade" at the American Music Awards in Los Angeles on Nov.
24 was "a question mark" because her old record label had
refused permission for her to sing a medley of her old hits on
the show.
Big Machine Label Group, the Nashville, Tennessee-based company
that owns the master recordings of Swift's back catalog, hit
back on Friday, saying the singer was giving out "false
information" and that the label has no right to limit her live
performances.
Under her contract, Swift is not permitted to re-record material
from her period with Big Machine until November 2020
Singer-songwriter Bareilles tweeted that the move by Big Machine
was "an outrageous abuse of power and completely unforgivable"
while Gomez, a close friend of Swift, said in a social media
post that she was “sick and extremely angry.”
Camila Cabello, Halsey and Tinashe also expressed support for
Swift on Twitter but many other female stars, including Katy
Perry, Adele, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Cardi B and Beyonce, were
silent on Friday.
Swift signed with Big Machine at age 15, recording some of her
biggest hits including "Shake it Off," and "You Belong With Me,"
but left last November for Universal Music Group, a unit of
French conglomerate Vivendi.
Swift has taken her disputes with Big Machine public before. In
June, she tweeted that she was "sad and grossed out" by the
purchase of the independent label by Scooter Braun, who manages
Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande. She also accused Braun of
bullying her in the past.
In this week's posts she accused Big Machine executives of
exercising "tyrannical control" over her music, and said they
also had denied permission for her old songs to be included in
an upcoming Netflix documentary in the works.
Big Machine claimed in a statement that Swift owed them
"millions of dollars and multiple assets." That claim was denied
by Swift's publicist, Tree Paine, who said in a statement that
Big Machine owed Swift $7.9 million in unpaid royalties.
"Right now, my performance at the AMA’s, the Netflix documentary
and any other recorded events I am planning to play until
November of 2020 are a question mark," Swift wrote.
"The message being sent to me is very clear," she added.
"Basically be a good little girl and shut up. Or you'll be
punished."
(Reporting by Rich McKay and Lisa Richwine; Writing by Jill
Serjeant and Clarence Fernandez; Editing by Frank McGurty,
Jonathan Oatis and Tom Brown)
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