New York federal judge Jeannette Vargas yesterday declined a request from Universal Music to pause discovery and postpone a pre-trial hearing in Drake’s big defamation lawsuit against the major over Kendrick Lamar’s diss track ‘Not Like Us’. That ruling followed Drake’s lawyers submitting a discovery request in relation to separate legal proceedings in Texas on Monday.
Drake has been busy pushing forward with his multi-layered legal battle against Universal, attempting to stop the major from slowing down his defamation action in the New York courts, while also seeking to depose a Universal exec as part of the separate legal dispute in Texas.
That would require said Universal exec to answer questions about the marketing of ‘Not Like Us’ under oath, potentially revealing crucial information about how the track was promoted.
Drake’s long-running feud with Lamar first went legal last November when his lawyers filed petitions with the courts in New York and Texas seeking to force Universal - his own label, but also Lamar’s - to hand over documents and data relating to the promotion and streaming of ‘Not Like Us’. Things ramped up considerably with the filing of the full-on defamation lawsuit in January.
Commenting on the latest developments, a spokesperson for Drake’s team said they were “pleased with the court’s decision to reject Universal’s continued attempts to stall discovery”, adding that that decision was “another clear sign that Universal cannot run from or bury the truth”. Vargas’s ruling, “along with our motion for discovery in Texas yesterday”, they went on, “together represent major steps forward in holding Universal accountable to shareholders and artists for their repeated and egregious actions”.
It still seems optimistic to try to hold Universal liable for defamation over its role in releasing and promoting Lamar’s track, even though its lyrics - in the words of Drake’s defamation lawsuit - “falsely accuse Drake of being a pedophile and call for violent retribution against him”. However, Drake’s various legal filings also make allegations about dubious marketing practices employed by the major, and they will be in the spotlight as the legal dispute goes through the discovery process.
Given Universal has been keen to position itself as a leader in the fight against streaming fraud - and with US media regulator the FCC recently announcing another crack down on payola, where broadcasters provide airplay in return for payment or kickbacks - any revelations in court about unethical marketing on the part of the major will be heavily scrutinised.
In his initial petitions last November, Drake alleged that, when promoting ‘Not Like Us’, Universal employed stream manipulation, radio payola and undeclared influencer marketing, all of which - if proven - likely violated US laws and would definitely damage Universal’s reputation. Which is why a spokesperson for the major quickly hit back, insisting those allegations were “offensive and untrue”.
The New York petition also demanded documents from Spotify, while the Texas filing made similar demands of radio giant iHeartMedia. The former related to claims that Universal had employed Spotify’s Discovery Mode tools, as well as the allegations of stream manipulation. The claims against iHeart related to allegations of straightforward payola.
The New York petition was withdrawn shortly before the full-on defamation lawsuit was filed. Though that lawsuit repeats many of the allegations regarding dubious marketing tactics. iHeart was then removed from the Texas petition last week after it shared some documents with Drake that seemingly satisfied his team.
However, the Texas petition against Universal Music continues, despite the major trying to get it dismissed by citing free speech laws in the state. Drake’s team argue that a deposition and discovery are now necessary to assess whether the free speech laws cited by Universal are relevant, because that depends on the major’s specific role in the release and marketing of Lamar’s track.
In the New York courts, Universal argued that discovery and a scheduled pre-trial hearing on 2 Apr in relation to the defamation lawsuit should be pushed back to give the judge time to consider its motion for dismissal, which has to be filed by 17 Mar.
Drake’s lawyers successfully argued against any delays, insisting that their client continues to be harmed by Universal’s ongoing marketing of ‘Not Like Us’, referencing - amongst other things - promotional efforts around Lamar’s recent Super Bowl half time show performance.
“Delaying discovery would unfairly prejudice Drake, who is continuing to suffer the consequences of Universal’s defamatory campaign”, they said in a court filing last month. “Indeed, at the same time Universal has been delaying here, it launched new campaigns to further spread the defamatory content, including at the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show, which had over 133.5 million viewers”.