Photo Credit: Drake by Charito Yap for The Come Up Show / CC by 2.0
Let the Drake v. Universal Music Group (UMG) showdown continue: The rapper and his team are preparing to submit an amended lawsuit against the major label.
Drake and his counsel told the court as much in a brief notice yesterday. As we reiterated last week, when breaking down the parties’ intensifying discovery confrontation, Universal Music is pushing hard to dismiss the allegedly “meritless” defamation action.
And in light of this effort, the presiding judge set an April 16th deadline for Drake to either respond to the dismissal motion (which UMG filed 10 days ago) or to submit an amended complaint, we previously noted.
Now, the “Passionfruit” rapper has formally committed to the latter approach, a concise letter to the court shows. The retooled action, Drake lead attorney Michael Gottlieb informed the judge, will arrive sometime within the next 20 days.
Especially because one of the defamation dispute’s central questions is whether Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” is causing fans to believe that Drake is actually a pedophile, it’ll be interesting to see what the amended suit brings to the table.
Meanwhile, UMG’s aforesaid attempt to stay discovery – Drake is seeking many documents relating, directly and indirectly, to “Not Like Us” – hinges on the dismissal motion, which the court is still considering.
Apparently, this all-important discovery debate is impacting (currently nonexistent) settlement talks as well.
In a joint update, the parties yesterday underscored their agreement “that settlement discussions would not be productive at this time.”
As Drake and his attorneys see the situation, before any “meaningful settlement negotiations” can take place, UMG would have to hand over the mountain of “Not Like Us” promotion and contract specifics.
Universal Music, on the other hand, only reiterated to the court that it’s looking to halt discovery while its dismissal motion plays out.
Regarding where things go from here – besides the amended complaint from Drake – both sides are due to participate in a pre-trial conference this coming Wednesday, April 2nd.
Kendrick Lamar and SZA are scheduled to kick off their Grand National Tour 17 days thereafter. It probably doesn’t need saying, but “Not Like Us” will almost certainly factor into the concert series – and, in turn, Drake’s lawsuit.
To be sure, among the 38-year-old’s discovery demands are details about Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show performance, which took place a month or so after the original action’s submission.
Content shared from www.digitalmusicnews.com.