Universal Music Group CEO Sir Lucian Grainge has filed a sworn declaration pushing again towards Drake’s makes an attempt to power him to offer paperwork in the rapper’s defamation lawsuit. Grainge describes the artist’s claims in that swimsuit as “farcical” and “groundless.”
In the declaration, filed on August 14 in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York and obtained by MBW, Grainge states that he “had by no means heard the recording ‘Not Like Us,’ nor ever noticed the corresponding cowl artwork or music video, till after they had been launched by Interscope Records.”
Adds Grainge: “Whilst, as a part of my position, I definitely have monetary oversight of and accountability for UMG’s world companies, the proposition that I used to be concerned in, a lot much less answerable for, reviewing and approving the content material of ‘Not Like Us’, its cowl artwork or music video, or for figuring out or directing the promotion of these supplies, is groundless and certainly ridiculous.”
“The premise of Drake’s movement — that he couldn’t have misplaced a rap battle except it was the product of some imagined secret conspiracy going to the highest of UMG’s company construction — is absurd.”
UMG’s authorized reps
Drake’s authorized workforce had sought to compel UMG so as to add Grainge as a doc custodian in their ongoing discovery battle, claiming the corporate’s world CEO was personally concerned in approving Kendrick Lamar’s diss observe Not Like Us, which varieties the premise of Drake’s defamation case towards UMG.
However, in a strongly-worded letter to the courtroom opposing Drake’s movement, UMG’s legal professionals referred to as the request “a clear try to make use of discovery to harass UMG and power it to waste time and assets out of spite”.
“The premise of Drake’s movement — that he couldn’t have misplaced a rap battle except it was the product of some imagined secret conspiracy going to the highest of UMG’s company construction — is absurd,” UMG’s attorneys wrote in their August 14 submitting.
Grainge dismisses “wild conspiracy” claims
In his declaration, Grainge straight addresses Drake’s allegations, stating that the declare he was behind a scheme to “devalue” Drake’s model via the discharge and promotion of Not Like Us “is not sensible because of the truth that the corporate that I run, Universal Music Group N.V., has invested tons of of thousands and thousands of {dollars} in Drake, together with longstanding and crucial monetary help for his recording profession, the acquisition and possession of the majority of his recording catalog, and the acquisition of his music publishing rights.”
The UMG CEO additional defined that he runs “a publicly-traded, multi-billion greenback, multi-national company whose operations in over sixty nations protecting practically 200 markets in the end report as much as me”.
“Universal Music Group has invested tons of of thousands and thousands of {dollars} in Drake, together with longstanding and crucial monetary help for his recording profession, the acquisition and possession of the majority of his recording catalog, and the acquisition of his music publishing rights.”
Sir Lucian Grainge, UMG
Drake’s first run of basic studio albums – together with Scorpion, More Life, Views, Nothing Was The Same, and Take Care – had been signed to Cash Money/Young Money Records.
As MBW has beforehand lined, Universal Music Group confirmed it bought Cash Money catalog , together with the Drake recordings, in an investor replace in 2021.
Since 2021’s Certified Lover Boy, Drake has owned his trendy recordings, launched by way of OVO/Republic.
Grainge’s declaration continues: “Our enterprise encompasses over 100 report labels (in addition to a multinational music publishing division, world merchandise and direct to shopper companies, the worldwide Virgin Music label providers, quick and lengthy type audiovisual manufacturing, and quite a lot of different companies), every with its personal CEO/President and its personal administration construction.
“Collectively these companies situation tens of 1000’s of releases and product every month. My focus is on creating and implementing the worldwide technique that may form UMG for generations to come back.
“I additional acknowledge {that a} frequent technique of UMG’s litigation opponents is to try and waste my and UMG’s time and assets with discovery of the kind that Drake is in search of right here — both in an try and acquire media consideration or in an effort to power some form of business renegotiation or monetary concessions.”
Sir Lucian Grainge, UMG
“In mild of this accountability, the proposition that I’m in the weeds as to the discharge and promotion of any specific sound recording, from the 1000’s of UMG releases all through the world, is farcical“.
Grainge additionally addressed the sample of such discovery requests in litigation, stating: “I’m accustomed (and sadly largely resigned) to private assaults, and I additional acknowledge {that a} frequent technique of UMG’s litigation opponents is to try and waste my and UMG’s time and assets with discovery of the kind that Drake is in search of right here — both in an try and acquire media consideration or in an effort to power some form of business renegotiation or monetary concessions.”
UMG opposes “intrusive” monetary discovery requests
In a separate letter filed the identical day, UMG’s legal professionals opposed Drake’s calls for for intensive monetary data, together with Interscope CEO John Janick‘s compensation particulars courting again to 2021, Interscope’s month-to-month revenues and income over a number of years, and paperwork exhibiting the worth of Lamar’s recording catalogue since January 2020.
“Drake’s second letter-motion seeks to compel the manufacturing of paperwork responding to sure requests for manufacturing,” UMG’s attorneys wrote. “As together with his movement regarding Sir Lucian Grainge, this movement is nothing however an apparent try and misuse the invention course of to pursue irrelevant and overbroad requests principally calculated to harass, embarrass or annoy Drake’s perceived adversaries.”
The firm argued that Drake’s request for John Janick’s personal compensation particulars going again 4 years earlier than “Not Like Us” was even launched fails to fulfill relevance requirements.
“Drake manufactures the premise for such a motive out of skinny air, speculating that as a result of UMG’s CEO encourages competitors between its report label divisions, UMG’s compensation construction should be a zero-sum sport that ‘pitted Lamar’s label towards Drake’s label.”
UMG authorized reps
“Drake makes no try to elucidate how his intrusive request for 5 years’ value of particular person compensation data is conceivably related or proportional to this case, which facilities on the discharge and promotion of a single observe and music video in 2024,” UMG’s legal professionals acknowledged.
UMG additionally pushed again towards Drake’s idea that Janick was incentivized to advertise Lamar over Drake because of inter-label competitors, calling it manufactured hypothesis.
“Drake manufactures the premise for such a motive out of skinny air, speculating that as a result of UMG’s CEO encourages competitors between its report label divisions, UMG’s compensation construction should be a zero-sum sport that ‘pitted Lamar’s label towards Drake’s label,’” the submitting reads.
Battle over Kendrick Lamar contract particulars intensifies
The discovery dispute has additionally intensified round Drake’s calls for to see Kendrick Lamar’s full recording contract with UMG.
Drake’s authorized workforce argues they want the entire, unredacted contract to show their case that UMG had the contractual authority to stop the discharge of “Not Like Us” however selected to not train that energy.
UMG has produced parts of Lamar’s contract referring to the corporate’s rights to approve, reject or modify content material, however with intensive redactions defending commercially delicate data. Drake’s legal professionals have complained that the redactions “cowl the overwhelming majority of the 22-page settlement” and “render the settlement unreadable and incomprehensible.”
However, UMG’s attorneys argue that Drake “can not clarify why the remainder of the contract is related” past the sections already produced. They contend that full disclosure would reveal “extremely commercially delicate data” in a case the place there’s “ongoing competitors” between Drake and Lamar.
“The ‘ongoing competitors’ between Drake and Lamar ‘requires the train of extra warning with respect to [the] commercially delicate data,’” UMG’s legal professionals wrote, citing authorized precedent.
The filings, obtained by MBW, might be learn in full right here, right here, and right here.
Background to the authorized battle
The discovery battle stems from Drake’s defamation lawsuit towards UMG filed in January 2025, which changed an earlier petition towards UMG and Spotify that he withdrew in the identical month.
In his lawsuit, Drake alleges that UMG “determined to publish, promote, exploit and monetize allegations that it understood weren’t solely false, however harmful” in Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” which was launched in May 2024 as a part of a extremely publicized rap feud between the 2 artists.
Both Drake and Lamar launch their music via UMG, with Drake signed to Republic Records and Lamar to Interscope Records. Notably, Lamar himself will not be named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
The discovery course of in the case started in April after UMG unsuccessfully sought a keep of the invention course of.
UMG has beforehand dismissed Drake’s claims as “wild conspiracies” and argued that “Drake’s legal professionals can even preserve in search of to ‘uncover’ proof of untamed conspiracies as to why one music that upset Drake had large world attraction, however there’s nothing to ‘uncover.’”Music Business Worldwide