Drake files second legal action against UMG over “Not Like Us”

BEXAR COUNTY: Hip hop musician Aubrey Drake Graham filed a second petition on Tuesday in order to obtain the depositions of both UMG Recordings, Inc and iHeartMedia, Inc., which may be used in a future lawsuit.

A second petition regarding Kendrick Lamar’s hit song “Not Like Us” was submitted and alleges that Universal Music Group (UMG) defamed Drake. After apprising the court that UMG is “meticulous in its planning and execution of the music it releases, promotes, and backs,” the petition went on to claim that the company knowingly allowed the song “Not Like Us” to be released, despite the fact that it falsely accuses Drake of “being a sex offender, engaging in pedophilic acts, harboring sex offenders, and committing other criminal sexual acts.” The petition states that UMG had the ability to halt the licensing of “Not Like Us” or had the accusatory material removed or edited.

However, in tandem with the previous petition, the latest filing alleges that instead of stopping the distribution of the song, UMG formulated and engaged in a plan to turn the aforementioned song into a “viral mega-hit.” The previous petition went into more detail regarding this alleged plan, claiming that UMG used ‘bots’ as well as a ‘pay-to-play agreement’ with Spotify, to boost the song’s outreach.

Drake’s court filing, UMG’s response, and reactions

The petition accuses iHeartRadio of massively contributing to the song’s prominence on the radio. iHeartMedia is a mass media corporation that is the largest owner of radio stations in the US, with over 860 stations, including iHeartRadio. The petition specifically cites iHeartMedia due to their “long-standing, symbiotic business relationship” with UMG through which iHeartMedia pays UMG “to license and collect royalties for UMG artists’ songs over radio airplay and streaming services.”

The petition references an iHeartRadio newsletter that claimed that the song was “heard more than 25 million times across iHeartRadio’s platforms alone” and that it remains one of the most played songs on iHeartRadio Stations to date.

The petition also alleges that UMG made “covert” payments to various radio stations, and other platforms, in order to promote Lamar’s hit song. The petitioner, Drake, claims to know at least one UMG employee that made payments to an independent radio promoter. He also alleged that UMG’s digital marketing teams paid third parties to share the song after it was released.  

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