Drake recently secured a major win in court amid his legal battle against Universal Music Group (UMG). In January of this year, the rapper filed a lawsuit against the label, accusing them of artificially boosting Kendrick Lamar's hit diss track "Not Like Us." He alleges that this spread the "false and malicious" narrative that he's an alleged pedophile.
Earlier this month, UMG filed a motion to stay discovery in the case, alleging that Drake was trying to obtain sensitive internal documents such as Kendrick's contract. Judge Jeannette Vargas shot the motion down in court today, according to Inner City Press. "I cannot find on that basis that a stay of discovery is warranted. Here there is only one defendant, which weighs against staying discovery. UMG can object to individual requests. The motion to stay discovery is denied," she said, per the outlet. "I'll set an argument on the motion to dismiss for June 30 at 2 pm. Six months for discovery seems aggressive - if 56 people were disclosed and might be deposed. So, confer and file a new proposal."
Drake's UMG Lawsuit
After UMG filed their request to stay discovery in the case, Drake's attorney Michael Gottlieb fired back. He suggested that the label wouldn't have a problem with discovery if they were innocent. "It is unsurprising that UMG is desperate to avoid discovery," he stated. "This motion is a ploy to delay producing documents and communications that UMG hopes to keep hidden and buried. If UMG has nothing to hide, it should not have an issue with discovery."
Following the judge's decision today, he issued yet another statement. “Now it's time to see what UMG was so desperately trying to hide," it reads. The ruling also comes amid reports that UMG will be partnering with e-commerce platform SendOwl, which will allow them to sell digital products and report their sales through their own online stores. This has sparked some suspicion from Drake fans about fairness and trust within the music industry.
