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Johnny Nunez / Contributor by way of Getty Photos
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Sir Lucian Grainge and Mustard attend the 67th Annual Grammy Awards
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Key Takeaways:
- Lucian Grainge referred to as Drake’s defamation lawsuit “farcical” and denied any position in selling “Not Like Us.”
- Drake’s authorized staff demanded Common Music Group hand over Kendrick Lamar’s contract and Grainge’s emails.
- The case highlights rising tensions between artists and labels over inventive management and public picture.
Lucian Grainge shouldn’t be happy with Drake. The CEO of the Common Music Group minced no phrases when he responded to the Toronto rapper’s latest demand pertaining to his defamation lawsuit towards the company.
On Thursday (Aug. 14), as reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Grainge filed a declaration letter with the Southern District of New York and scorched Drizzy’s need to acquire paperwork pertaining to UMG’s relationship with Kendrick Lamar.
The 6 God is claiming that UMG basically conspired towards him when it promoted Okay. Dot’s hit diss document, which calls him a “licensed pedophile.” In court docket filings submitted on Tuesday (Aug. 12), Drake’s authorized staff demanded an unredacted model of Lamar’s Interscope Information contract in addition to Grainge’s emails and textual content messages pertaining to “Not Like Us” as a part of the invention course of in his lawsuit. The paperwork additionally alleged that the corporate sought to devalue Drake’s model in an effort to realize leverage forward of a possible contract extension.
Nonetheless, in his letter, Grainge says he had no intention to “devalue” Drake’s model by way of “Not Like Us.” As a substitute, he argues that saying so “is mindless” since UMG has “invested tons of of tens of millions of {dollars}” into the Views artist, “together with longstanding and demanding monetary assist for his recording profession, the acquisition and possession of the majority of his recording catalog, and the acquisition of his music publishing rights.”
The top of the letter appears significantly damning for Drake. “Given my position, I’m accustomed (and sadly largely resigned) to private assaults,” the CEO writes. “I additional acknowledge {that a} frequent technique of UMG’s litigation opponents is to aim to waste my and UMG’s time and assets with discovery of the type that Drake is searching for right here — both in an try to realize media consideration or in an effort to power some sort of industrial renegotiation or monetary concessions.”
The music government then asserted that he was too busy working a worldwide firm to be concerned within the trivialities of selling “Not Like Us.” In actual fact, he famous that he heard the music — in addition to noticed the duvet artwork and music video — on the similar time the remainder of the world did.
“While, as a part of my position, I definitely have monetary oversight of and accountability for UMG’s international companies, the proposition that I used to be concerned in, a lot much less answerable for, reviewing and approving the content material of ‘Not Like Us,’ its cowl artwork or music video, or for figuring out or directing the promotion of these supplies, is groundless and certainly ridiculous,” Grainge wrote.
UMG continues to disclaim any wrongdoing. The corporate is requesting that Drake’s movement be denied and pushing that the case be dismissed solely.