Drake Drops iHeartRadio from "Pay-to-Play" Allegations, Continues Defamation Battle with Universal Music Group
Drake has withdrawn his legal petition against iHeartRadio, a subsidiary of iHeartMedia, related to allegations that Universal Music Group (UMG) engaged in a "pay-to-play" scheme to boost the popularity of Kendrick Lamar’s diss track, "Not Like Us." This development comes three months after the initial accusations were filed in a Texas court.
According to court documents filed in Bexar County and obtained by USA TODAY, Drake and iHeartMedia reached an amicable resolution to the dispute. The rapper has amended his original petition, filed on November 21, to remove iHeartMedia as a party. In exchange for documentation demonstrating that iHeartRadio did not engage in any wrongdoing, Drake agreed to drop his claims against the company.
"No payments were made by either one of us," stated a spokesperson for iHeartMedia. Drake’s legal team confirmed the settlement, stating they were "pleased that the parties were able to reach a settlement satisfactory to both sides" and would offer no further comment.
Drake’s initial petition sought to depose UMG and iHeartMedia, aiming to uncover evidence supporting his claim that his music distributor funneled payments to iHeartRadio to artificially inflate the metrics and promote "Not Like Us" across radio airwaves. The song, released on May 4, contains highly inflammatory lyrics accusing Drake of serious misconduct, including being a "certified pedophile," which were widely circulated and even echoed at the 2025 Grammy Awards.
The petition provided a deeper look into Drake’s anger toward UMG, alleging that the company was aware that the song, its accompanying album art, and music video attacked Drake’s character by falsely accusing him of being a sex offender, engaging in pedophilic acts, harboring sex offenders, and committing other criminal sexual acts. Drake’s lawyers argued that UMG, through its control over the licensing of "Not Like Us" via Interscope Records, could have refused to release or distribute the song or demanded the removal of the offending material.
Shortly after initiating legal action in Texas, Drake’s legal team filed a petition in the New York Supreme Court, accusing UMG and Spotify of orchestrating a scheme to ensure the breakthrough of "Not Like Us" on multiple streaming platforms. He alleged that UMG employed underhanded tactics to increase listenership for the Lamar song on Spotify and radio stations, resulting in "Not Like Us" breaking Spotify records and reaching the top spot twice on the Billboard Top 100 chart.
UMG vehemently denied these allegations, calling them "offensive and untrue." Subsequently, Drake dropped the case against Spotify and pivoted to a defamation lawsuit against UMG.
In the civil lawsuit filed in New York federal court, Drake’s legal team asserted that despite a decade-long relationship, his and Lamar’s shared music distributor intentionally sought to transform Drake into a pariah and a target for harassment. They also argued that the company aimed to profit from damaging Drake’s reputation. Drake is suing for defamation, second-degree harassment via promoting violence against him, and deceptive business practices. He alleges that "Not Like Us" disseminates defamatory claims about him, including accusations of engaging in sexual relations with minors, sex trafficking, and harboring sex offenders.
UMG has refuted Drake’s claims, labeling them as "untrue" and denying any involvement in defamation. The company’s spokesperson argued that Drake is attempting to "weaponize the legal process to silence an artist’s creative expression and to seek damages from UMG for distributing that artist’s music."
A pretrial conference for the case is scheduled for April 2, but UMG’s attorneys have requested a delay until the judge can assess the merits of their motion to dismiss the case. Drake’s legal team has opposed this move, accusing the defense of delaying discovery, or the exchange of information necessary for both parties to gather evidence.
According to a filing by Drake’s team, "At the same time UMG has been delaying here, UMG launched new campaigns to further spread the defamatory content, including at the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show, which had over 133.5 million viewers."
In a letter to the judge, one of UMG’s lawyers noted that Drake’s team had "agreed to withdraw certain key allegations in his complaint." However, Drake’s lawyers countered that this was a misleading statement, clarifying that Drake only "agreed to address UMG’s concerns regarding a single factual allegation," which would result in minimal changes to a small portion of the extensive complaint.
The withdrawal of iHeartRadio from the legal proceedings marks a partial resolution to the initial dispute, but the core defamation battle between Drake and UMG remains ongoing. The accusations of payola, the dissemination of damaging claims in "Not Like Us," and the alleged attempts to profit from Drake’s damaged reputation are at the center of the lawsuit. The outcome of this case could have significant implications for the music industry, particularly concerning the dynamics between artists, record labels, and streaming platforms, and the boundaries of artistic expression in diss tracks. The allegations of UMG actively promoting the song at the Super Bowl highlight the aggressive nature of both parties during this feud and also how deep these actions will cut Drake’s reputation. These allegations will need to be sorted out in court or in settlement before any closure can be made.
