Universal Music denounces Drake’s ‘illogical’ lawsuit for ‘not like us’

Universal Music Group has released a fiery response to Drake’s lawsuit surrounding Kendrick Lamar’s brutal track, “Not Like Us,” in which he accuses the company – his label for over a decade – of defamation. On Wednesday morning, Drake sued the company for defamation and harassment, claiming it spread the “false and malicious narrative” that he was a pedophile via Kendrick Lamar’s track, “Not Like Us.”

In response, a UMG spokesperson said: “Not only are these claims false, but the idea that we would seek to harm the reputation of any artist – let alone Drake – is illogical. We have invested heavily in his music and our employees around the world have worked tirelessly for many years to help him achieve historic commercial and personal financial success.

“Throughout his career, Drake has intentionally and successfully used UMG to distribute his music and poetry to engage in conventionally outrageous “rap battles” to express his feelings toward other artists. He now seeks to use the legal process as a weapon to silence an artist’s creative expression and to seek damages from UMG for distributing that artist’s music.

“We have not and do not engage in defamation – against anyone,” the statement concluded. “At the same time, we will vigorously defend this litigation to protect our people and our reputation, as well as any artist who may directly or indirectly become the target of frivolous litigation for doing nothing more than writing a song.”

In the documents, Drake claims that UMG knew that the lyrics and images of Lamar in the song’s music video were false and dangerous, and that it “chose corporate greed over the safety and well-being of its artists. In the controversy,” he continues, “UMG saw an opportunity, seized it and continued to fan the flames.”

Although Lamar’s lyrics are at the heart of the lawsuit, they clearly place blame on Universal for the release, distribution and promotion of the song: “This lawsuit is not about the artist who created ‘Not Like Us'” , we can read in the complaint. “Rather, this is entirely about UMG, the music company that decided to publish, promote, exploit and monetize claims that it understood to be not only false, but dangerous. »

Ironically, Universal distributes Lamar and Drake’s music – both artists own their recent master recordings through their companies – and underwrites the majority of both artists’ careers. The lawsuit claims that because Drake’s current deal with UMG is coming to an end, the company is attempting to devalue his music and profile in an attempt to obtain more favorable terms during a renegotiation.

Drake initially filed a lawsuit against Universal and Spotify — and another naming iHeartMedia — in November, but withdrew the first motion on Tuesday, paving the way for trial. However, Drake appears to have backed down on claims that UMG and Spotify conspired to falsely boost the song’s streaming numbers; these allegations have been vigorously denied by both companies.

Variety we will know more about the situation as it develops.