The legal battle between Drake and Universal Music Group (UMG) has taken one other turn, with the label searching for to dismiss the rapper’s lawsuit.
The dispute centers around UMG’s role in promoting Kendrick Lamar’s diss track “Not Like Us,” which Drake claims led to harmful consequences.
Nonetheless, UMG is pushing back, arguing that Drake’s claims are unfounded. The motion, filed earlier on Monday, challenged the legitimacy of Drake’s case, stating that it’s merely an try and get well from a public defeat relatively than a real legal grievance.
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Universal’s Strong Response To Drake’s Lawsuit
In its filing, Universal Music Group didn’t hold back in criticizing Drake’s legal move.
The label asserted that Drake “lost a rap battle that he provoked and wherein he willingly participated,” arguing that as a substitute of accepting the end result, he resorted to legal measures to “salve his wounds.”
Moreover, UMG accused Drake of contradicting his own stance on artistic freedom, declaring that he had previously signed a petition condemning using rap lyrics in legal proceedings.
“Drake was right then and is improper now,” the motion stated, reinforcing their claim that the lawsuit lacks merit.
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The Core Of Drake And UMG’s Dispute
In his lawsuit, Drake alleged that UMG’s involvement in promoting “Not Like Us” constituted defamation and harassment.
Nonetheless, UMG argued that there isn’t a legal basis for these claims, stating that the song expresses “nonactionable opinion and rhetorical hyperbole, not fact.”
The corporate also highlighted a perceived double standard, noting that while Drake expects support for his own diss tracks, he objects to an identical promotion of Lamar’s response.
The label insisted that their actions were inside legal and ethical boundaries and that Drake’s claims failed to satisfy the obligatory criteria to proceed in court.
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Drake’s Legal Team Fires Back
Despite UMG’s try and dismiss the case, Drake’s legal team stays firm of their stance.
The rapper’s attorney, Michael J. Gottlieb, asserted that the lawsuit is about greater than only a rap battle.
Gottlieb told Variety, “UMG desires to pretend that that is a few rap battle as a way to distract its shareholders, artists, and the general public from an easy truth: a greedy company is finally being held answerable for taking advantage of dangerous misinformation that has already resulted in multiple acts of violence.”
He also suggested that UMG has a history of exploiting artists and that the case will reveal deeper systemic issues inside the music industry.
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Gottlieb said, “This motion is a desperate ploy by UMG to avoid accountability, but now we have every confidence that this case will proceed and proceed to uncover UMG’s long history of endangering, abusing and benefiting from its artists.”
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Drake Sues UMG Over ‘Not Like Us’ Promotion
The lawsuit, submitted in a Latest York federal court, got here after he withdrew a legal challenge accusing UMG and Spotify of artificially inflating the song’s popularity. UMG dismissed the claims as “illogical.”
The lawsuit alleged that UMG prioritized “corporate greed over the protection and wellbeing of its artists” by distributing “Not Like Us,” which labeled Drake a “certified pedophile.”
It claimed that UMG intentionally promoted the track to spread “false factual allegations” and incite harm against Drake.
The suit also highlighted the song’s artwork, which featured a picture of Drake’s house marked similarly to the homes of registered sex offenders.
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UMG Responds To Drake’s Defamation Claims
Drake’s legal team argued that UMG knowingly published and profited from false claims, holding the label answerable for the song’s impact.
“This lawsuit is just not in regards to the artist who created “Not Like Us,” the filing stated. “It’s, as a substitute, entirely about UMG, the music company that decided to publish, promote, exploit, and monetize allegations that it understood weren’t only false, but dangerous.”
Nonetheless, UMG strongly denied the accusations, insisting they’d significantly contributed to Drake’s success.
“Not only are these claims unfaithful, however the notion that we might seek to harm the status of any artist – let alone Drake – is illogical,” a spokesperson stated per the Guardian.
In addition they accused the “One Dance” crooner of “weaponizing the legal process to silence an artist’s creative expression” despite having benefited from the identical industry practices throughout his profession.
