Drake is suing Universal Music Group (UMG) for allegedly promoting Kendrick Lamar’s diss track “Not Like Us” in a deliberate manner where reaction creators are allowed to use the song without being demonetized. In the lawsuit are creators like Kai Cenat, RDC, No Life Shaq and many more.

The alleged whitelisting of the song

In May 2024, Kendric Lamar released “Not Like Us,” which accused Drake of sexual misconduct and pedophilia — claims that the singer has consistently denied. In his lawsuit against UMG, he stipulated that the licensing company facilitated the song’s virality by whitelisting it, allowing content creators on platforms like YouTube, Twitch and TikTok to produce reaction videos without demonetization concerns.

Additionally, Drake alleges that UMG paid influencers on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) to post about “Not Like Us,” further spreading its content. The singer claims these actions were intended to devalue his brand ahead of contract renewal discussions, giving UMG an upper hand.

“As to Drake, in 2024, his contract was nearing fulfillment. On information and belief, UMG anticipated that extending Drake’s contract would come at a high cost to UMG; as such, it was incentivized to devalue Drake’s music and brand in order to gain leverage in negotiations for an extension,” the lawsuit says.

The virality of the song with reaction content

In general, taking and rebroadcasting someone else’s content without permission is a copyright violation. However, reaction content can complicate things. If the reacting creator adds enough new material — such as commentary, critique or humor — their content might be considered transformative. In the case of creators named in Drake’s lawsuit, they may have been permitted to monetize reaction content related to Kendrick Lamar’s diss track “Not Like Us” because Universal Music Group (UMG) reportedly worked with platforms to whitelist the track. Alternatively, their monetization might have been allowed due to prior licensing agreements between the company and the platforms.