AMAs Producer Teases Taylor Swift's Performance Will Be 'Spectacular' Amid Scooter Braun Drama

Despite Taylor Swift‘s ongoing feud with Scooter Braun and her former music label, Big Machine Label Group, her upcoming performance at the 2019 American Music Awards on Sunday night is expected to go on as planned.

While Swift, 29, and Braun, 38, have been at odds ever since he purchased BMLG and her back catalog earlier this year, their issues once again surfaced with a vengeance last week after the singer shared a message on Tumblr accusing Braun and the CEO of BMLG, Scott Borchetta, of blocking her from performing her pre-Lover hits (which were recorded while under contract with BMLG) in a medley at the AMAs, where she’s due to receive the Artist of the Decade award.

Then on Monday, BMLG announced to PEOPLE in a statement that Swift has been cleared to perform her early hits at the AMAs, saying, “Recording artists do not need label approval for live performances on television or any other live media. Record label approval is only needed for contracted artists’ audio and visual recordings and in determining how those works are distributed.”

Swift has yet to comment on BMLG’s latest statement.

Taylor Swift; Scooter Braun

During the AMAs red carpet rollout and press preview event in Los Angeles on Thursday, longtime executive producer Mark Bracco gave some insight into how they’ve been dealing with the back-and-forth.

“One of the things we pride ourselves on is our relationships with the artists and with the music community,” Bracco told PEOPLE. “We’ve been in communication with all the parties about this. We’re always in communication with Taylor’s camp because she’s performing on the show and the one thing I would say is she is going to be here Sunday night. We’re awarding her as the Artist of the Decade, and it’s a performance everyone is going to want to watch live.”

Though Bracco wouldn’t elaborate on which songs Swift is able to perform, he did say, “Her performance is going to be spectacular, and everyone should watch live.”

A look at the show’s seating chart on Thursday showed that Swift will have support from her front-row seat mates and close friends Selena Gomez, Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes.

Check out PEOPLE’s full AMAs coverage to get the latest news on one of music’s biggest nights.

Taylor Swift

Dick Clark Productions — the team behind the AMAs — previously released a statement clarifying, “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. Any final agreement on this matter needs to be made directly with Taylor Swift’s management team. We have no further comment.”

On Nov. 14, Swift reached out to her followers and told them she didn’t “know what else to do,” sharing a lengthy post detailing the ways that Braun, Borchetta, and BMLG allegedly tried to bar her from performing her old music.

“I’ve been planning to perform a medley of my hits throughout the decade on the show. Scott Borchetta and Scooter Braun have now said that I’m not allowed to perform my old songs on television because they claim that would be re-recording my music before I’m allowed to next year,” she wrote.

The singer also revealed she has been working with Netflix on a documentary about her “life for the past few years,” but that Borchetta and Braun — who purchased BMLG for $300 million earlier this year — have “declined the use of my older music or performance footage for this project.”

According to Swift, Borchetta tried to negotiate and offered to let her perform and use her music if she agreed not to re-record “copycat versions” of her old songs and “stop talking about him and Scooter Braun.”

Scott Borchetta; Taylor Swift; Scooter Braun

However, the superstar reiterated her criticism of the business partners and urged her fans for help.

“The message being sent to me is very clear. Basically, be a good little girl and shut up. Or you’ll be punished,” wrote Swift. “Please let Scott Borchetta and Scooter Braun know how you feel about this.”

Hours later, BMLG responded in a statement on their website and denied Swift’s allegations, accusing the star of “false information.”

“As Taylor Swift’s partner for over a decade, we were shocked to see her Tumblr statements yesterday based on false information. At no point did we say Taylor could not perform on the AMAs or block her Netflix special,” the statement read. “In fact, we do not have the right to keep her from performing live anywhere. Since Taylor’s decision to leave Big Machine last fall, we have continued to honor all of her requests to license her catalog to third parties as she promotes her current record in which we do not financially participate.”

The label went on to claim that they had “worked diligently” to try and have a conversation with Swift, concluding with, “To date, not one of the invitations to speak with us and work through this has been accepted.”

A spokesperson for Swift responded with another statement, reiterating that “Scott Borchetta, CEO and founder of Big Machine Label Group, flatly denied the request for both American Music Awards and Netflix,” and alleged BMLG owes the singer “$7.9 million dollars of unpaid royalties over several years.”

According to a source close to Swift, she is not bothered by the backlash she may receive for sharing her side of the story.

“She is expressing her truth and doesn’t care what other people say,” the source previously told PEOPLE. “This is her life and she finds the whole album catalog drama insanely wrong. She wants her fans to know what’s going on.”

“She is an artist who tries to share her music with her fans,” the source added. “When she isn’t able to, she will obviously be upset about it.”

Taylor Swift

Just hours after Braun — who manages stars including Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande — broke his silence on his dispute with Swift during the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce State of the Entertainment Industry Conference on Thursday, he shared a length message on Instagram, revealing he has been receiving “death threats” amid the drama.

“Since your public statement last week there have been numerous death threats directed at my family,” he began. “This morning I spoke out publicly for the first time saying I wouldn’t participate in a social media war. However, I came home tonight to find my wife had received a phone call threatening the safety of our children, as well as other threats seen above.”

Braun later claimed that his attempts to contact Swift over the past six months “have all been rejected.”

“While some on your team and many of our mutual friends have tried to get you to the table, all have had no luck,” he wrote. “It almost feels as if you have no interest in ever resolving the conflict. At this point with safety becoming a concern I have no choice other than to publicly ask for us to come together and try to find a resolution. I have tried repeatedly through your representatives to achieve a solution but unfortunately, here we are. The game of telephone isn’t working.”

“I will make myself available whenever works for you,” he concluded. “Many have told me that a meeting will never happen as this is not about the truth or resolution but instead a narrative for you. I am hopeful that is not the case. I’m right here, ready to speak directly and respectfully. But if you would prefer to make large public statements while refusing to work towards resolving things amicably then I just pray that nobody gets seriously hurt in the process. I continue to wish you the best and hope we can resolve this.”

A rep for Swift has not yet responded to request for comment.

Along with receiving the Artist of the Decade honor at the 2019 AMAs, Swift is also up for five awards, including artist of the year.

The 2019 American Music Awards will broadcast live on ABC from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, Nov. 24 at 8:00 p.m. EST.

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