Lucian Grainge‘s persistence is seemingly sporting skinny as Common Music Group‘s authorized battle with rapper Drake rumbles on. In a declaration letter, filed on Thursday with the Southern District of New York and obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, the omnipotent head of UMG, the world’s greatest music firm, fired again at Drake’s newest push to safe extra paperwork associated to the corporate’s relationship with Kendrick Lamar, describing the precise claims made by Drake as “farcical,” “nonsensical” and “groundless and certainly ridiculous,” with Grainge pointedly remarking that the corporate had spent “a whole bunch of thousands and thousands” in supporting the Canadian rapper’s music profession.
Earlier this week, Drake’s authorized group made strikes to seek out extra ammunition in his defamation lawsuit towards UMG. In a discovery bid, Drake urged the court docket to power UMG and Grainge to show over the label’s contract with Lamar, in addition to data referring to allegations of home violence and different alleged crimes dedicated by the Compton rapper.
In his declaration letter, Grainge made clear he was not concerned with the discharge and promotion of “Not Like Us” and likewise sought to clarify that UMG was not attempting “devalue” Drake, certainly one of their best-selling artists. Lamar (Interscope Information) and Drake (Republic Information) are represented by totally different divisions of UMG.
Grainge writes that “claims that I used to be behind a scheme to “devalue” [Drake’s] model by the discharge and promotion of the Kendrick Lamar recording “Not Like Us” — an allegation that is mindless on account of the truth that the corporate that I run, Common Music Group N.V., has invested a whole bunch of thousands and thousands of {dollars} in Drake, together with longstanding and significant 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.”
Additional, Grainge stated it “is mindless in anyway” that he was “within the weeds as to the discharge and promotion of any specific sound recording, from the 1000’s of UMG releases all through the world” as his job encompassed “international technique” at “a publicly-traded, multi-billion greenback, multi-national company whose operations in over sixty international locations overlaying almost 200 markets,” including, claiming in any other case was “farcical.”
Grainge ends the letter with a extra emphatic assertion that he had nothing to do with “Not Like Us.” “Given my function, I’m accustomed (and sadly largely resigned) to private assaults, and I additional acknowledge {that a} frequent technique of UMG’s litigation opponents is to try to waste my and UMG’s time and sources with discovery of the type that Drake is looking for right here — both in an try to realize media consideration or in an effort to power some form of industrial renegotiation or monetary concessions,” Grainge writes.
He provides, “However given Drake’s movement, I want to make it fairly clear that I had by no means heard the recording “Not Like Us,” nor ever noticed the corresponding cowl artwork or music video, till after they had been launched by Interscope Information. While, as a part of my function, 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 chargeable 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.”
In a separate letter submitted by UMG’s legal professionals to the Southern District of New York on Thursday, the corporate stated, “Drake’s movement is a clear try to make use of discovery to harass UMG and power it to waste time and sources out of spite.”
The letter provides that “the premise of Drake’s movement — that he couldn’t have misplaced a rap battle except it was the product of some imagined secret conspiracy going to the highest of UMG’s company construction — is absurd. Sir Lucian is the CEO of a multinational enterprise; his days are spent figuring out and implementing international technique, not vetting particular person tracks or album covers or driving the discharge and promotional plans for anyone recording. And even when Sir Lucian had any responsive paperwork, they might absolutely be captured by discovery from UMG’s different doc custodians, who had been really chargeable for releasing and selling “Not Like Us.” Drake doesn’t come near assembly his burden of exhibiting that Sir Lucian have to be a custodian. His movement must be denied.”