Taylor Swift Won't Have Scooter Braun to Attack at AMAs

Taylor Swift may be locked and loaded to go after Scooter Braun Sunday at the AMAs, but we've learned she'll be talking to an empty chair because Scooter will be thousands of miles away.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Scooter's not scared of what Taylor might do ... fact is, he never planned on showing up for the show. He'll be in Tampa, Florida supporting one of his artists who's performing there ... in case you're not familiar, her name is Ariana Grande.

As we first told you ... Scooter's getting death threats from loyal Taylor fans in the wake of their idol claiming Scooter and other Big Machine honchos were holding her first 6 albums hostage.

Our sources say Taylor -- who's getting an award for Artist of the Decade -- plans to weave her anger toward Scooter and Big Machine into her acceptance speech, but there won't be awkward cutaways of Scooter, and that kind of deflates the balloon.

And, there's more intrigue ... Ariana and Taylor are both nominated for Artist of the Year and Favorite Female Artist Pop/Rock at the AMAs. It'll be interesting if Ariana wins since she's squarely in Scooter's corner.

The speeches could be super entertaining.