Drake vs Kendrick Lamar: The lawsuit explained
Drake has filed two lawsuits against Universal Music Group for separate elements of his most recent beef with Kendrick Lamar. This summer, Lamar’s diss track ‘Not Like Us’ hit the number-one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 and astounded the whole hip-hop community. Ever since, Drake has let it be known that he is very unhappy and angry with the industry and certain people within it.
The Take Care creator is signed to a subsidiary of Universal Music Group, as is his enemy, Kendrick Lamar. Still, despite having been in business with the company for over 15 years, he is determined to take them down in court. On November 25th, the Canadian’s legal team filed paperwork in New York state’s Supreme Court.
The lawsuit has been filed under the name Frozen Moments LLC, a business set up by the rapper many years ago. It is rumoured to manage his entire portfolio of wealth. Still, any legal proceedings resulting from Drake’s actions will be “Frozen Moments LLC vs Universal Music Group N.V.”
Many have found the filings confusing as Drake and his team have filed two in quick succession with few details about both revealed so far. Some believe that Drake is suing Kendrick Lamar, and others are still determining if there are one or two lawsuits. That said, here is a comprehensive breakdown of the ongoing situation.
Drake files lawsuit for the use of online streaming bots and pay-for-play
Drake has not sued Kendrick Lamar. He is suing his record label, Universal Music Group. Drake’s first lawsuit concerns the use of bots and the promotion of ‘Not Like Us’ on YouTube, Spotify and iHeartRadio. Drake’s team first filed what is known as a “pre-action petition.” It requests the court to put certain parameters in place so that a plaintiff can file an official lawsuit. Drake’s petition demanded the preservation of information that might be evidence in a potential lawsuit against UMG.
Once this was in place, the first lawsuit was filed. It alleges that Universal Music Group “launched a campaign to manipulate and saturate the streaming services and airwaves with a song, ‘Not Like Us,’ in order to make that song go viral, including by using ‘bots’ and pay-to-play agreements.”
It alleges that Universal Music Group offered special licensing rates to Spotify and iHeartRadio to maximise the diss track’s exposure and radio play. The lawsuit alleges that ‘Not Like Us’ was “heard more than 25 million times” and that, in addition to discount licensing, UMG made “covert payments” and operated a “pay-to-play scheme.”
Drake’s legal team has insisted that UMG falsely boosted the popularity of the song online by using Spotify bots and pay-to-play. This alleged use of bots in conjunction with radio play made the song seem more popular than it was in reality.
Drake files second lawsuit for defamation of character
Drake, through his business Frozen Moments LLC, then filed a second lawsuit against Universal Music Group on November 27th. However, this time, he was accusing the music company of defamation of character. This filing concerns the allegations and insinuations made by Lamar on ‘Not Like Us’ and the potential damage they may have on Drake’s career moving forward.
In the documents filed in New York State’s Supreme Court, Drizzy’s legal team asserted that ‘Not Like Us’ contains several defamatory lies and emphasised how it hears Lamar “falsely accusing [Drake] of being a sex offender”. The track also calls Drake a “certified paedophile.”
This is Universal’s fault, according to Drake’s attorneys, because “UMG … could have refused to release or distribute the song or required the offending material to be edited and/or removed, But UMG chose to do the opposite.”
The second lawsuit insists UMG wanted the defamatory lies in there to drive sales. Detailing this, they alleged, “UMG designed, financed and then executed a plan to turn ‘Not Like Us’ into a viral mega-hit with the intent of using the spectacle of harm to Drake and his businesses to drive consumer hysteria and, of course, massive revenues.”
UMG responds to the first lawsuit
So far, Universal Music Group have only responded to the lawsuit concerning bots and pay-to-play. In an open letter in Variety, UMG dismissed every allegation the rapper made, writing, “The suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue. We employ the highest ethical practices in our marketing and promotional campaigns.”
It continued, “No amount of contrived and absurd legal arguments in this pre-action submission can mask the fact that fans choose the music they want to hear.” No more has been heard from the company.
Spotify hasn’t responded in any capacity. However, when previously faced with adversity concerning bots, Spotify has insisted it invests heavily in automated and manual reviews to prevent, detect, and mitigate the impact of artificial streaming on our platform.”
Only time will tell how these two lawsuits play out. However, it is the first time fans have seen a music megastar launch an attack on their own label. However, this event could last for years.