Lucian Grainge, the CEO of Universal Music Group, has issued his first public response (and it’s a fiery one) to Drake’s lawsuit against the company for what he alleges to be the strategically defamatory promotion of Kendrick Lamar’s hit diss song “Not Like Us.”
Earlier this week, Drake’s attorneys attempted to force Grainge to submit documents they believe would build their case of the alleged CEO’s involvement in the planning and release of “Not Like Us” in filings reviewed by Rolling Stone. In turn, in filings submitted by UMG attorneys to the Southern District of New York presiding over the case (which Rolling Stone also reviewed), Grainge called the idea that he had anything to do with the minutiae of the song’s release “farcical,” among other choice words.
While claiming that Grainge had personal involvement in the distribution of “Not Like Us,” Drake’s motion for documents from the executive also pointed to his authorship of the company’s Code of Conduct, where it claims he wrote that UMG’s leadership should be held “accountable for the decisions we make and how we conduct ourselves.”
The motion asserts that Grainge instead has been allegedly aware of and callous towards the impact Lamar’s assertion that Drake is a “pedophile” in his lyrics and on the single artwork. It also cites the fact that Grainge publicly celebrated “Not Like Us” winning the Grammy for Record of the Year alongside its allegation of Grainge’s critical involvement as part of an attempt to “devalue Drake’s music and brand in order to gain leverage in negotiations for an extension” of his contract.
Grainge isn’t having it. “Given Drake’s motion, I would like to make it quite clear that I had never heard the recording ‘Not Like Us,’ nor ever saw the corresponding cover art or music video, until after they were released by Interscope Records,” the CEO said in declaration attributed to him personally.
“Whilst, as part of my role, I certainly have financial oversight of and responsibility for UMG’s global businesses, the proposition that I was involved in, much less responsible for, reviewing and approving the content of ‘Not Like Us,’ its cover art or music video, or for determining or directing the promotion of those materials, is groundless and indeed ridiculous.”
Given his responsibilities as the at the top of “a publicly-traded, multi-billion dollar, multi-national corporation whose operations in over sixty countries covering nearly 200 markets,” Grainge adds that it “makes no sense whatsoever” that he was “in the weeds as to the release and promotion of any particular sound recording, from the thousands of UMG releases throughout the world.”
Love Music?
Get your daily dose of everything happening in Australian/New Zealand music and globally.
Grainge noted that he is accustomed to personal attacks, and that his company is accustomed to litigation tactics that “attempt to waste my and UMG’s time and resources with discovery of the sort that Drake is seeking here — either in an attempt to gain media attention or in an effort to force some kind of commercial renegotiation or financial concessions.”
As far as devaluing Drake goes, Variety reports that the star – who is also signed to UMG under Republic Records while Lamar distributes his music through the company’s Interscope subgroup – is one of the highest selling artists there, in turn earning a $400 million contract in 2022. Grainge cited the company’s massive investments in Drake as part of the so-called ridiculousness of his allegations.
“Claims that I was behind a scheme to ‘devalue’ [Drake’s] brand through the release and promotion of the Kendrick Lamar recording ‘Not Like Us’ — an allegation that makes no sense due to the fact that the company that I run, Universal Music Group N.V., has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in Drake, including longstanding and critical financial support for his recording career, the purchase and ownership of the bulk of his recording catalog, and the purchase of his music publishing rights,” Grainge wrote.
Drake first filed his suit against UMG for defamation and harassment through Lamar’s “Not Like Us” in January. He also sued iHeartMedia for allegedly accepting “covert payments” to promote airplay of Lamar’s diss track “Not Like Us” from UMG. In March, that suit settled, with a source at iHeartMedia telling Rolling Stone, “In exchange for documents that showed iHeart did nothing wrong, Drake agreed to drop his petition. No payments were made – by either one of us,” a source at iHeartMedia tells Rolling Stone.
In a separate statement, Drake’s legal team said, “We are pleased that the parties were able to reach a settlement satisfactory to both sides and have no further comment on this matter.”
From Rolling Stone US
