UMG Demands Dismissal Of Drake’s “Not Like Us” Legal Petition In Texas

Drake filed two headline-making legal petitions last year, one against both Universal Music Group and Spotify, and a second, filed in Texas, solely against UMG. While Drizzy dropped the first petition to make way for a full-blown lawsuit, he has yet to address the second. UMG is now demanding that the second petition be dismissed.

Filed in Bexar County, Tx. on Thursday (Jan. 23), UMG’s motion to dismiss argues that Drake’s lack of direct evidence towards his “Not Like Us” defamation and payola claims warrant a dismissal of the petition.

“Because [Drake’s] petition is related to and was filed in response to UMG’s protected free speech, and because [Drake] cannot carry his burden to establish by clear and specific evidence that he is entitled to pre-suit discovery, the Court should dismiss [Drake’s] retaliatory legal action against UMG,” the filing reads. “[Drake] provides nothing outside of his verified petition, which alone cannot provide an evidentiary basis for a petition. Even looking into the petition […] there is no evidentiary support for his asserted need for pre-suit deposition of UMG.”

UMG also acknowledges that Drake has since filed a lawsuit based on the same accusations leveled within the petition, writing that he “already filed suit on his potential claims, obviating any need for pre-suit discovery.”

The label also argues that, rather than taking up his issues with Kendrick Lamar, Drake, “has resorted to strategic legal retaliation against UMG and others, in an apparent effort to pressure them to limit the distribution of ‘Not Like Us.’”

Drake nor his reps have responded to the filing, but a hearing to determine if he can depose UMG and iHeartMedia employees is currently scheduled for Jan. 28.

After filing the petitions last November, Drake officially sued UMG this month for defamation due to claims made by Kendrick Lamar on the aforementioned hit record. The 6 god alleges that UMG knew that the pedophile claims were false and defamatory, yet still chose to distribute and the record. He also doubled-down on claims that UMG ignored the “inflammatory and shocking allegations” of the record, knowing it would be a “gold mine” for the company, emphasizing that they had a financial incentive to promote what he claims are lies. He also believes that UMG is looking to help ruin his “brand,” giving them more leverage in future negotiations.

UMG has since responded to his accusations, calling them “illogical.”

“Not only are these claims untrue, but the notion that we would seek to harm the reputation of any artist—let alone Drake—is illogical,” UMG shared. “We have invested massively in his music and our employees around the world have worked tirelessly for many years to help him achieve historic commercial and personal financial success.”