Discovery to Proceed in Drake v. Universal Music Lawsuit

Despite Drake’s settlement with iHeartMedia, discovery is moving forward in his high-stakes lawsuit against Universal Music Group (UMG).

The presiding judge made as much clear in a recent order, after the major-label defendant last month asked to adjourn an initial pretrial conference set for April 2nd.

Said conference, UMG maintained in more words, should be shelved pending the resolution of its forthcoming dismissal motion. This motion to dismiss is itself due just 12 days from today, on March 17th.

(In the same letter requesting the pretrial-conference delay, Universal Music and its attorneys indicated that Drake, “pursuant to separate correspondence,” had “agreed to withdraw certain key allegations in his complaint.”)

Unsurprisingly, the ask didn’t sit right with Drake and his counsel, who, given the explosive defamation claims at hand, are eager to dive into the discovery process. They emphasized the position in a follow-up letter to the court, decrying UMG’s alleged “improper attempt to stay discovery without having so moved.”

Additionally, the plaintiff artist stressed the ongoing nature of the alleged defamation – complete with a not-so-subtle reference to non-party Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show.

“And delaying discovery would unfairly prejudice Plaintiff, who is continuing to suffer the consequences of UMG’s defamatory campaign,” Drake and his legal team wrote. “Indeed, at the same time UMG has been delaying here, UMG launched new campaigns to further spread the defamatory content, including at the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show, which had over 133.5 million viewers.”

While it remains to be seen whether the “defamatory content” is, in fact, defamatory, Judge Jeannette Vargas went ahead and rejected UMG’s request.

“It is not the practice of this Court to routinely stay discovery pending the outcome of a motion to dismiss,” the judge penned, noting that any discovery stay should be sought via a letter-motion and would then be addressed at the aforementioned April 2nd conference.

Running with the point, it’ll certainly be worth keeping an eye out for Universal Music’s dismissal motion, which, as highlighted, is expected to arrive by the 17th. Closer to the present, regardless of how exactly the Drake lawsuit unfolds and what it reveals, the underlying rap beef is in full swing.

Though that’s presumably due in part to the ongoing courtroom confrontation, fans (and other artists) are still exchanging related barbs on social media.