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Fashion Killa author Sowmya Krishnamurthy recently took to X on November 27, 2024, to comment on the petition Drake filed against Universal Music Group. In the tweet, Krishnamurthy mentioned that Drizzy signed a "360-deal" reportedly worth $400 million with Universal Music Group in 2022.
According to Indie Music Academy, a 360 deal is an exclusive contract between an artist and a label wherein the label takes a share of the artist's music sales. Additionally, the label also takes a percentage of revenue from the artist's other ventures like merchandise, TV appearances, publishing, or concerts.
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In her tweet, Sowmya Krishnamurthy mentioned:
"My gut is that he probably expected them to side with him and throw Kendrick under the bus. Now he’s going scorched earth because he can’t believe they wouldn’t."
The music journalist hinted at the rapper's recent pre-action motion against UMG and Spotify as Drizzy's retaliation toward the music company for not siding with him during his feud with Kendrick Lamar.
Details of Drake's 2022 multi-faceted deal with Universal Music Group explored
According to a report by Variety dated May 3, 2022, the CEO of the Universal Music Group, Sir Lucian Grainge confirmed Drake's deal with UMG in the company's Q1 earnings call. The publication mentioned that the Family Matters rapper's multi-faceted deal with UMG comprised publishing, merchandise, visual media projects, and recordings.
Dubbing the deal as "expanded portfolios", Sir Lucian Graing mentioned that it spanned multiple revenue streams and creative projects along with the Weeknd's deal with the company.
The publication mentioned a statement by record executive and entrepreneur Steve Stoute from July 2020. Stoute talked about Drizzy getting a lot of money once his contract with UMG was fulfilled. In his statement, Stoute said:
“Drake is about to get the biggest bag in the history of the music business by far. If Drake goes independent, the music business is over."
Drizzy's deal with UMG's Republic Records ended in 2021 post which he signed the reportedly $400 million deal with UMG in 2022.
Drake accused UMG of defamation and artificially boosting Lamar's Not Like Us
According to a report by Billboard Pro dated November 25, 2024, Drake's company Frozen Moments LLC has filed two petitions against Universal Music Group. In the first petition, the rapper alleged that UMG and Spotify conspired to falsely boost the popularity of Kendrick Lamar's diss track Not Like Us.
Drizzy's lawyers mentioned in the first petition that UMG paid "currently unknown parties" to use bots to falsely inflate Not Like Us and deceive the audience into believing that the diss track was more popular than it really was.
According to a report by BBC dated November 27, 2024, in the second petition, Drizzy accused UMG of defamation. The rapper claimed that the music company could have stopped Not Like Us from releasing, given that the song falsely accused Drake of being a sex offender.
Drizzy's lawyers accused UMG of executing a plan to make the diss track viral by using Lamar's lyrics to "drive consumer hysteria and, of course, massive revenues".
Currently, the legal action filed by Drake against UMG is a pre-action petition wherein the rapper's lawyers can ask the court to order UMG to preserve relevant information and documents for future legal action.
