Drake has reached a settlement with Texas-based iHeartMedia in his ongoing UMG legal war over Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” diss track.
As we’ve previously shared, in November 2024, Drake filed a legal petition in San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas alleging that iHeartMedia raked in illegal payments from his and Kendrick Lamar’s parent record label Universal Music Group (UMG).
He alleged the media company received the funds in exchange for boosted radio play for “Not Like Us.” He claimed UMG engaged in “irregular and inappropriate business practices” to get radio airplay for the diss track.
Drake also alleged that UMG knew “the song itself, as well as its accompanying album art and music video, attacked the character of another one of UMG’s most prominent artists, Drake, by falsely accusing him of being a sex offender, engaging in pedophilic acts, harboring sex offenders, and committing other criminal sexual acts.”
Drake filed his petition as a precursor to a potential lawsuit. The legal action sought depositions from the corporate representatives of both companies.
RELATED: Universal Music Files Motion To Dismiss Drake’s ‘Not Like Us’ Petition, Citing Insufficient Evidence
Since November’s petition, Drake’s attorneys filed a court document on Thursday (February 27) with an update. According to court records reviewed by CBS News, Drake and iHeartMedia “reached an amicable resolution of the dispute.”
However, it is reported that they did not offer any further information. Drake’s legal team also released a statement following the settlement. It read, “We are pleased that the parties were able to reach a settlement satisfactory to both sides and have no further comment on this matter.”
Additionally, in an email to CBS News on Friday (February 28), iHeartMedia declined to comment on the settlement. Meanwhile, Drake’s claims against UMG still remain active. Since Drake’s filing, UMG has filed a motion to dismiss the petition. A hearing for that is scheduled for next Wednesday (March 5) in San Antonio.
Following Drake’s November legal petitions against iHeartMedia and UMG, he formally filed a defamation lawsuit in New York City against the latter in January 2025. In his filing, he alleged that the record label defamed his character by allowing Kendrick Lamar to spew false allegations of pedophilia in his diss track “Not Like Us.”
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