Drake’s requesting entry to Kendrick Lamar’s confidential contract has Universal music Group warning a federal decide that exposing the deal may destabilize its enterprise mannequin and provides opponents a strategic edge.

UMG is urging Judge Jeannette A. Vargas to maintain Kendrick Lamar’s contract underneath seal, arguing that even redacted sections reveal delicate phrases that might be weaponized by rival labels or artists throughout negotiations.

The doc was submitted as a part of Drake’s ongoing defamation lawsuit towards UMG, which stems from Lamar’s 2024 diss observe “Not Like Us.”

“If these terms were disclosed, then other artists could use them in their own negotiations with UMG and other record labels could use them when competing with UMG to sign or re-sign artists, including potentially Lamar himself,” UMG’s authorized crew wrote.

UMG maintained that the contract outlines present enterprise dealings with Lamar and contains proprietary particulars in regards to the firm’s authority over his music and movies.

The label mentioned releasing these phrases would hurt its capability to barter future offers and will harm its relationship with Lamar.

The courtroom submitting emphasised that UMG’s contract with Lamar stays lively and that each events anticipated confidentiality. The firm cited authorized precedent to help its request, pointing to prior rulings the place judges protected enterprise contracts from public disclosure to keep away from aggressive hurt.

Drake’s lawsuit, filed in January 2025, accuses UMG of defamation and alleges the label promoted “Not Like Us” to wreck his status and strain him right into a much less favorable recording deal.

The go well with claims the track falsely portrays him as a pedophile and that its launch led to 3 tried residence invasions at his Toronto property, one in all which resulted in his security guard being shot.

Drake additionally accuses UMG of coordinating a pay-to-play scheme with Spotify, iHeartRadio and social media influencers to artificially increase the track’s publicity.

UMG CEO Lucian Grainge dismissed the lawsuit as “farcical” and mentioned the label had no intention of sabotaging Drake’s profession.

“Drake claims that I used to be behind a scheme to ‘devalue’ his model via the discharge and promotion of the Kendrick Lamar recording ‘Not Like

Us’ —an allegation that is unnecessary as a consequence of the truth that the corporate that I run, Universal music Group N.V., has invested tons of of tens of millions of {dollars} in Drake, together with longstanding and demanding monetary help for his recording profession, the acquisition and possession of the majority of

his recording catalog, and the acquisition of his music publishing rights,” Lucian Grainge mentioned in reply to the lawsuit.

“My focus is on developing and implementing the global strategy that will shape UMG for generations to come. In light of this responsibility, the proposition that I am in the weeds as to the release and promotion of any particular sound recording, from the thousands of UMG releases throughout the world, is farcical,” Grainge added.

UMG has requested the courtroom to dismiss the case, stating that the lyrics in query are inventive opinions, not factual claims.

The courtroom has not but dominated on whether or not Kendrick Lamar’s contract will stay sealed.

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