UMG’s Sir Lucian Grainge refutes ‘ridiculous’ claims in Drake lawsuit, confirms Common purchased star’s recorded music and publishing catalogs

Common Music Group CEO Sir Lucian Grainge has filed a sworn declaration pushing again in opposition to Drake’s makes an attempt to power him to supply paperwork within the rapper’s defamation lawsuit. Grainge describes the artist’s claims in that swimsuit as “farcical” and “groundless.”

Within the declaration, filed on August 14 within the US District Court docket 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 have been launched by Interscope Information.”

Provides Grainge: “While, as a part of my position, I definitely have monetary oversight of and duty for UMG’s international companies, the proposition that I used to be concerned in, a lot much less accountable 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 until 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 group had sought to compel UMG so as to add Grainge as a doc custodian of their ongoing discovery battle, claiming the corporate’s international CEO was personally concerned in approving Kendrick Lamar’s diss monitor Not Like Us, which varieties the premise of Drake’s defamation case in opposition to UMG.

Nonetheless, in a strongly-worded letter to the court docket opposing Drake’s movement, UMG’s attorneys 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 until it was the product of some imagined secret conspiracy going to the highest of UMG’s company construction — is absurd,” UMG’s attorneys wrote of their August 14 submitting.

Grainge dismisses “wild conspiracy” claims

In his declaration, Grainge instantly addresses Drake’s allegations, stating that the declare he was behind a scheme to “devalue” Drake’s model by way of the discharge and promotion of Not Like Us “is not sensible resulting from the truth that the corporate that I run, Common Music Group N.V., has invested a whole bunch of tens of millions of {dollars} in Drake, together with longstanding and demanding monetary assist 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 masking practically 200 markets in the end report as much as me”.

“Common Music Group has invested a whole bunch of tens of millions of {dollars} in Drake, together with longstanding and demanding monetary assist 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, Extra Life, Views, Nothing Was The Similar, and Take Care – have been signed to Money Cash/Younger Cash Information.

As MBW has beforehand lined, Common Music Group confirmed it purchased Money Cash catalog , together with the Drake recordings, in an investor replace in 2021.

Since 2021’s Licensed Lover Boy, Drake has owned his fashionable recordings, launched through OVO/Republic.

Grainge’s declaration continues: “Our enterprise encompasses over 100 report labels (in addition to a multinational music publishing division, international merchandise and direct to shopper companies, the worldwide Virgin Music label providers, brief and lengthy kind audiovisual manufacturing, and quite a lot of different companies), every with its personal CEO/President and its personal administration construction.

“Collectively these companies subject tens of 1000’s of releases and product every month. My focus is on growing and implementing the worldwide technique that can form UMG for generations to return.

“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 looking for right here — both in an try and acquire media consideration or in an effort to power some sort of industrial renegotiation or monetary concessions.”

Sir Lucian Grainge, UMG

“In gentle of this duty, the proposition that I’m within 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 looking for right here — both in an try and acquire media consideration or in an effort to power some sort of industrial renegotiation or monetary concessions.”

UMG opposes “intrusive” monetary discovery requests

In a separate letter filed the identical day, UMG’s attorneys opposed Drake’s calls for for in depth monetary data, together with Interscope CEO John Janick‘s compensation particulars courting again to 2021, Interscope’s month-to-month revenues and earnings 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 corporate 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 recreation that ‘pitted Lamar’s label in opposition to Drake’s label.”

UMG authorized reps

“Drake makes no try to clarify how his intrusive request for 5 years’ price of particular person compensation data is conceivably related or proportional to this case, which facilities on the discharge and promotion of a single monitor and music video in 2024,” UMG’s attorneys said.

UMG additionally pushed again in opposition to Drake’s idea that Janick was incentivized to advertise Lamar over Drake resulting from 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 recreation that ‘pitted Lamar’s label in opposition to Drake’s label,’” the submitting reads.

Battle over Kendrick Lamar contract particulars intensifies

The invention dispute has additionally intensified round Drake’s calls for to see Kendrick Lamar’s full recording contract with UMG.

Drake’s authorized group argues they want the whole, 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 regarding the corporate’s rights to approve, reject or modify content material, however with in depth redactions defending commercially delicate info. Drake’s attorneys have complained that the redactions “cowl the overwhelming majority of the 22-page settlement” and “render the settlement unreadable and incomprehensible.”

Nonetheless, UMG’s attorneys argue that Drake “can’t clarify why the remainder of the contract is related” past the sections already produced. They contend that full disclosure would reveal “extremely commercially delicate info” in a case the place there may be “ongoing competitors” between Drake and Lamar.

“The ‘ongoing competitors’ between Drake and Lamar ‘requires the train of further warning with respect to [the] commercially delicate info,’” UMG’s attorneys wrote, citing authorized precedent.

The filings, obtained by MBW, could be learn in full right here, right here, and right here.

Background to the authorized battle

The invention battle stems from Drake’s defamation lawsuit in opposition to UMG filed in January 2025, which changed an earlier petition in opposition to 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 Could 2024 as a part of a extremely publicized rap feud between the 2 artists.

Each Drake and Lamar launch their music by way of UMG, with Drake signed to Republic Information and Lamar to Interscope Information. Notably, Lamar himself just isn’t named as a defendant within the lawsuit.

The invention course of within 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 attorneys may also maintain looking for to ‘uncover’ proof of untamed conspiracies as to why one track that upset Drake had huge international enchantment, however there may be nothing to ‘uncover.’”Music Enterprise Worldwide