Drake has scored a key discovery win in his UMG lawsuit. Photo Credit: musicisentropy
Let the discovery fireworks begin: Drake has scored a document-production win in his intensifying lawsuit against Universal Music Group (UMG).
That victory arrived in the form of a ruling, handed down during a pre-trial conference this morning, pertaining to the parties’ all-important discovery sub-dispute. We’ve already covered that high-stakes component of the defamation battle in detail.
To recap, however, UMG was looking to pause discovery while its dismissal motion played out. Drake and his counsel, for their part, were urging the presiding judge to keep the discovery wheels in motion.
Now, Judge Jeannette Vargas has done just that, rejecting UMG’s motion and, in the process, enabling Drake’s team to move forward with discovery.
As things stand, the case’s docket hasn’t received the relevant update. But in a concise statement provided to DMN, Drake lead attorney Michael Gottlieb confirmed the development and touched on his eagerness to dive into discovery.
“Now it’s time to see what UMG was so desperately trying to hide,” said the Willkie Farr & Gallagher partner.
While the approaching months should reveal those precise details – with any luck, public-version redactions won’t be too extensive – we aren’t without knowledge of the information Drake is seeking from the major.
That’s because the rapper and his team reiterated their initial wave of discovery requests last month. Factoring also for the distinct possibility of executive depositions, it isn’t difficult to see why UMG was pushing to nix discovery.
To be sure, Drake and his counsel were calling for 18 separate sets of documents as of mid-March 2025. Especially given the multifaceted nature of certain demands, the all-encompassing discovery scope is best summarized in a list.
Worth bearing in mind as well is that several of the demands concern happenings (like the Super Bowl) that occurred well after Drake submitted his original complaint. Kendrick Lamar and SZA are scheduled to kick off their Grand National Tour later in April.
Drake’s UMG Discovery Demands As of March 2025
1. “All contracts and agreements between” UMG and Kendrick Lamar
2. All documents and communications concerning UMG’s “Not Like Us” release approval
3. All “Not Like Us” communications from Interscope marketing exec Ramon Alvarez-Smikle
4. All documents and communications regarding “the payment and reimbursements of discretionary marketing funds for the benefit” of Lamar and/or his team
5. All documents and communications pertaining to “Not Like Us” payola allegations (or payola claims about any other Lamar tracks)
6. All details about UMG’s “actions or contemplated actions” involving the “Not Like Us” copyright restrictions
7. “Documents sufficient to show” UMG’s policies and procedures for enforcing copyright restrictions on third-party platforms
8. All UMG’s documents and communications with the Grammys/Recording Academy about “Not Like Us”
9. All documents and communications “relating to the selection and licensing of” “Not Like Us” for the Super Bowl halftime show, including for “any and all decisions proposed, contemplated, or made with respect to whether to omit or censor any lyrics or other content”
10. Detailed accounts of “Not Like Us” streams and views “on all platforms,” including social services
11. Documents revealing “the executive compensation structure and annual incentive plans” for Interscope CEO John Janick during the past half-decade
12. Additional details about Interscope’s broader executive-incentive metrics
13. Documents and communications about UMG’s “litigation hold notices”
14. All documents and communications about the attack on Drake’s Toronto home
(Said attack factored prominently into the original complaint.)
15. All documents and communications about “Not Like Us” promotion on Spotify and Apple Music
16. Any documents and communications involving “concerns” about the content of “Not Like Us”
17. Documents demonstrating exactly how much UMG spent producing “Not Like Us”
18. Documents identifying UMG’s monthly marketing spend for “Not Like Us”
Content shared from www.digitalmusicnews.com.