Drake Turns the Dial on iHeartRadio Legal Action

Sorry, we take it back: Drake is very clearly still bothered about Kendrick Lamar. How do we know? Well, the man took legal action against Lamar’s label, alleging a conspiracy to inflate numbers for “Not Like Us” amid their beef earlier this year in two petitions. After withdrawing the petition against Spotify, he’s now settled with iHeartMedia. Apparently, he’s focusing on his lawsuit against Universal Music Group.

An illegal ‘scheme’

November 25, 2024: Frozen Moments LLC, one of Drake’s companies, has made a filing against Universal Music Group, also naming Spotify as a respondent, claiming there had been an illegal “scheme” to boost “Not Like Us” using bots and payola, Billboard reports. Drake went as far as accusing UMG of violating the federal RICO act — that is, of a criminal conspiracy to support “Not Like Us.” A spokesperson for UMG shared a response to the filing to Vulture, writing, “The suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue. We employ the highest ethical practices in our marketing and promotional campaigns. No amount of contrived and absurd legal arguments in this pre-action submission can mask the fact that fans choose the music they want to hear.”

Drake’s filing isn’t a lawsuit but a pre-action petition, which helps acquire information ahead of a lawsuit. But it’s still a notable move, especially against UMG, which not only distributes Lamar’s music through Interscope Records but also owns Drake’s label, Republic Records. How’s Kendrick taking this, you wonder? He’s just dancing.

And defamation, too

November 26, 2024: In a second filing, Drake is also threatening a defamation suit against Universal Music Group over Kendrick Lamar’s claims in “Not Like Us.” It’s another pre-action petition — this time filed in Texas and also naming iHeartRadio as a respondent, per Billboard — accusing UMG of being involved in a “pay-to-play scheme” with the radio conglomerate. It alleges this scheme is part of a broader RICO conspiracy UMG is carrying out. But in the filing, Drake’s lawyers also take issue with UMG releasing a song “falsely accusing him of being a sex offender.”

In “Not Like Us,” Lamar raps lines like, “Say, Drake, I heard you like ’em young,” and “Certified lover boy? Certified pedophiles.” (Lamar’s claims came after Drake released songs accusing Lamar of being an abusive partner, cheater, and absent father.) Drake’s attorneys say the label group “could have refused to release or distribute the song or required the offending material to be edited and/or removed.” Instead, they claim UMG illegally boosted “Not Like Us” “with the intent of using the spectacle of harm to Drake and his businesses to drive consumer hysteria and, of course, massive revenues.” (This despite the fact that Drake also releases music through UMG, on Republic Records.) While the new filing is aimed at acquiring information, Drake’s lawyers said they already have the evidence to pursue a defamation claim — though they are focusing on the RICO claim instead.

Spotify responds

December 20, 2024: Spotify is disputing Drake’s “far-fetched” claim that it worked with Universal Music Group to boost Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” in a new motion. “The predicate of Petitioner’s entire request for discovery from Spotify is false,” attorneys for the streamer wrote, per Billboard. “Spotify and UMG have never had any such arrangement.”

While UMG made a statement on Drake’s petitions at the time, Spotify is the first party to formally respond in a court filing. The company additionally accused Drake of trying “to bypass the normal pleading requirements” by filing a pre-action petition, rather than a lawsuit. “This subversion of the normal judicial process should be rejected,” the attorneys wrote. Spotify additionally said Drake’s case, which is not a lawsuit, “asserts no specific facts” and “relies exclusively on speculation … or the claims of anonymous individuals on the internet.” The filing included an affidavit from Spotify’s vice-president of music, who attested to how the streamer fights bots.

Attorneys for Drake accused Spotify of “trying to distance themselves from UMG’s allegedly manipulative practices” in a response to Vulture, adding “If Spotify and UMG have nothing to hide, then they should be perfectly fine complying with this basic discovery request.”

Drake retreats

January 15, 2025: Drake has withdrawn his legal action against Universal Music Group and Spotify over “Not Like Us.” In a new filing in New York, Drake’s attorneys said they met with attorneys for UMG and Spotify, Billboard reported, and would drop the action “without costs to any party.” His action against UMG and iHeartRadio in Texas is still pending. A representative for Drake declined to comment. Drake’s team had maintained that the pre-action petition, which precedes a lawsuit, was part of an information-gathering process, but it’s unclear whether his team got any information about the alleged scheme from Spotify before dropping it.

Drake settles with iHeartMedia

March 3, 2025: Attorneys for Drake settled his legal action against iHeartMedia, which had remained open after he sued Universal Music Group. Drake’s lawyers wrote they “reached an amicable resolution of the dispute” with the radio conglomerate, the Associated Press reported. Drake’s team had alleged that UMG paid iHeartRadio to illegally boost Kendrick Lamar’s diss track “Not Like Us.” Now, instead, Drake is focusing his efforts against Lamar on a defamation lawsuit against UMG. And iHeartMedia may have bigger problems, too — per the AP, the Federal Communications Commission is now investigating claims that the company underpaid artists to perform at its iHeartCountry festival in Austin by promising radio play. IHeartMedia said it does “not make any overt or covert agreements about airplay” with performers.

• [billboard]

Related

• Drake Sues Universal Music Group Over ‘Not Like Us’
• Don’t Expect a Drake Trial
• A Complete Track-by-Track Timeline of Drake and Kendrick Lamar’s Feud