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Global music superstar Drake has filed a 26-page motion in a legal dispute with Universal Music Group (UMG), requesting the deposition of the representative responsible for promoting the track Not Like Us.
On March 3, 2025, the Canadian rapper's legal team filed another motion against UMG, seeking court permission to legally involve the representative solely responsible for promoting Kendrick Lamar's song Not Like Us.
The court documents indicate that Drizzy's legal team wants to analyze the tactics used in the track's promotions for at least four hours. This new motion follows Drake's legal lawsuit against Universal Music Group and Spotify on January 15, 2025. In it, his legal team alleged that the record label employed unlawful means and tactics to boost the release of Lamar's song, which came out in May 2024.
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Drake files motion demanding UMG deposition over promotion issues
On Tuesday, March 3, 2025, Drake's attorney, Michael J. Gottlieb, filed a 26-page motion with the Bexar County court in Texas. In the motion, the Canadian rapper has asked for a deposition of a Universal Music Group (UMG) representative that will last at least four hours.
If granted, the motion suggests that the deposition will involve questioning the representative about the marketing strategies and methods used to promote the song through social media influencers and on the radio.
Additionally, the new motion indicates that the Canadian rapper's legal team seeks permission to examine UMG's agreement documents with iHeartRadio for Not Like Us, which would also include the label's licensing and revenue deals.
Furthermore, the motion reiterates the accusations, stating that Universal Music Group has allegedly employed "unlawful efforts" to make the track a "mega-hit" in the music industry. The document submitted to the court reads as follows —
"Drake filed a petition under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 202 seeking narrow pre-suit discovery into the conduct of UMG and iHeartMedia, Inc.' in connection with UMG's unlawful efforts to turn the song Not Like Us into a viral mega-hit.
"UMG holds exclusive control over licensing the song and, as the Petition alleges, engaged in deliberate, irregular, and inappropriate business practices, including covert and illegal pay-to-play ("payola") deals to create a record-shattering spread of Not Like Us," the motion reads.
The motion by Drake followed a January 23, 2025, filing from UMG to dismiss Drizzy's Texas petition for pre-suit depositions of UMG. In its motion, the record label argued that the rapper's team lacked sufficient evidence to support claims of artificially inflating the song's success.
Additionally, the motion under the Texas Citizens Participation Act states that the record label seeks to dismiss the petition under free speech, stating that it "protects from retaliatory lawsuits that seek to intimidate or silence them on matters of public concern."
Furthermore, the record label requested that the court order the Canadian rapper to pay their attorney fees and all legal costs.
As of now, Universal Music Group has not yet responded to Drake's attorney's new motion. The Canadian rapper and UMG have a pretrial conference scheduled for April 2, 2025.
This is an ongoing story; updates will be provided as new information becomes available.
