UMG

Playboi Carti Scores Legal Win In UMG Copyright Case Over Incorrect Takedown

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Playboi Carti and Universal Music Group (UMG) just dodged a huge legal bullet thanks to a new ruling from a federal judge. Moreover, this case stems from the aforementioned artist and label taking down a song from G-Baby which uses the same beat from Carti and Pi’erre Bourne’s “Right Now.” However, G-Baby actually released his song “Oi!” before “Right Now” and did so with a legal license to use this same beat. The judge in this matter ruled that the “FIELD TRIP” creative and UMG didn’t violate the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) when they mistakenly took “Oi!” down since they didn’t intend to do so.

Furthermore, this ruling emerged on Tuesday (August 27) amid an update in last year’s lawsuit from G-Baby against Playboi Carti and UMG. The suit claimed that this takedown violated the DMCA’s stipulations protecting creators from improper takedowns. However, the judge in this ruling cited that previous decisions indicate how these safeguards only apply to intentionally irresponsible uses of the legal framework to shut other products down. As such, it seems like the “No Face” MC (which might appear on streaming services soon) will be in the clear.

Read More: Playboi Carti Tries To Explain Himself In Wild Body Cam Footage Of Traffic Stop

Playboi Carti Performing At Wireless Festival 2023

Playboi Carti Lawsuit UMG Copyright Take Down Hip Hop News
LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 07: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Playboi Carti performs during day one of Wireless Festival 2023 at Finsbury Park on July 07, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Joseph Okpako/WireImage/Getty Images)

“Because the DMCA requires only a good faith belief that material is infringing, a copyright holder is not liable for misrepresentation under the DMCA if they subjectively believe the identified material infringes their copyright, even if that belief is ultimately mistaken,” Judge Analisa Torres expressed. She also explained how G-Baby admitted that the UMG employee who took “Oi!” down didn’t know that he licensed the beat that Playboi Carti also used. “This admission alone dooms [G-Baby’s] claim against UMG,” Torres posited. Hopefully Carti and The Weeknd don’t face these issues on their supposed next collab.

Back to the story at hand: “[G-Baby] cites no caselaw for the proposition that one employee’s knowledge that a use may be non-infringing should be imputed to another employee who independently issues a takedown notice on behalf of the company,” the judge ruled. “Although [Playboi Carti] may well have been aware of (and displeased with) [G-Baby’s] license to use the beat, [G-Baby] has failed to establish that [Carti] had any part in the takedown notices.” We’ll see what happens next for one of Complex‘s best Atlanta rappers of all time.

Read More: Iggy Azalea Seemingly Mocks Playboi Carti’s Baby Voice In New Ad

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Drake Slapped With Copyright Strike After Dropping Unreleased Music

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Drake dominated the news cycle when he dropped “100 Gigs” on our collective headtops. The rollout worked, as fans sifted through unreleased footage and reactive positively to new collabs with Latto and 21 Savage. The only problem was, Drake’s label did not appreciate the drop. Universal Music Group, aka UMG, issued a copyright strike against the rapper on August 9. They ensured that the three new songs Drake put out were taken down. They are no longer available to stream on the rapper’s official website.

The copyright strike was actually confirmed by Drake himself. The rapper took to his recently revealed Finsta account, @plottttwistttttt, to share the notification he received from UMG. The screenshot stated that access to the content had been restricted due to reports from a third party. The third party, being, of course, Drizzy’s label. It’s currently unknown which new song triggered the copyright strike on the part of UMG. The only song that’s gained traction, “It’s Up,” has done so due to 21 Savage’s combative verse.

Read More: Drake Reposts A Tweet Ruthlessly Clowning J Cole On His Finsta Account

Drake Signed A Massive Deal With UMG In 2021

Drizzy’s relationship with UMG has been a topic of speculation in recent years. The rapper reportedly signed a “LeBron-Sized” deal with the label back in 2021. Variety reported that the deal incorporated every facet of Drake’s business: recordings, publishing and merchandise. Neither UMG nor Drake has divulged the specific dollar amount that was agreed upon. The latter, however, did allude to owning his own masters on the 2021 song “The Remorse.” Drake has not spoken publicly about his interactions with UMG, but it was widely theorized that the label got involved in the recent battle involving Kendrick Lamar.

TMZ claimed that UMG was putting a halt to the Drake and Kendrick Lamar beef in May. A supposed leak stated that the label was concerned about the impact the beef would have on the rapper’s sales. “Drake is losing the beef in UMG’s eyes,” the document read. “So from UMG’s perspective, the sooner than this beef ends the better.” Despite gaining some traction online, UMG quickly shut down the rumor. The reps for the label asserted that they had no involvement in the battle. “Kendrick and Drake’s beef is between them,” their statement noted. “UMG just doesn’t think it’s their place to step in either way.”

Read More: Drake Flooded The Internet With New Material And Fans Are Overwhelmed

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UMG Denies Intervening In Drake And Kendrick Lamar Battle

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Never has a rap battle been saddled with so many conspiracy theories and false leads. Drake and Kendrick Lamar has not only had to contend with fake diss songs, but they’ve spread information about the other person without providing concrete evidence. The misinformation spree continued on May 7. Drake’s record label, UMG, was accused of stepping in and putting an end to the battle because the rapper was “losing.” A document surfaced online with a list of steps UMG has taken to end things.

The document in question claimed that UMG asked The Weeknd and Kendrick Lamar to end their battle with Drake. It detailed Zoom meetings with the artists’ respective labels, and claims that UMG was losing money over Drake’s pedophile allegations. “Drake is losing the beef in UMG’s eyes,” the document read. “So from UMG’s perspective, the sooner than this beef ends the better.” It didn’t take long for real UMG reps to speak out and state that none of these actions have been taken.

Read More: DJ Akademiks Relays Message From Drake After Shooting: “He’s Okay”

UMG Has No Plans To Interfere With Drake And Kendrick Lamar

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by DJ Akademiks (@akademiks)

UMG, which is short for Universal Music Group, issued a denial to TMZ. The label has never considered getting involved in the Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar battle. “Kendrick and Drake’s beef is between them and completely separate from the business side of things,” TMZ reported. “And UMG just doesn’t think it’s their place to step in either way.” It’s easy to see why UMG is staying clear. The label is reaping the benefiting from the battle with historic streaming numbers.

Drake and Kendrick Lamar will draw over 250 million streams in the United States this week. This means that the handful of releases between will make up a staggering 20% of all streams on the Billboard Hot 100. Firstly, Drake, UMG’s artist, managed to land a top 20 single with “Push Ups.” Secondly, the music video for his follow-up diss, “Family Matters,” trended number one on YouTube. It’s since racked up an impressive 17 million views. If anything, UMG would benefit from the battle continuing to unfold. Drake may have had another diss prepped to drop on May 7, but a shooting outside of his home led to a delay.

Read More: TV Anchor Calls Drake A “Raper” Instead Of “Rapper” On Accident

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TikTok Will Have Ariana Grande, The Weeknd And More Back On The Platform After Striking New Deal

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A major battle over the future of how music is used on social media and how labels are paid for it may have just come to a close. After months of speculation about what Universal Music Group would do if they couldn’t come to an agreement with social media platform TikTok. The conflict was over paying out royalties for song use and the deal collapsed. As a result, UMG removed their music catalog from the app earlier this year. Fans were left unable to add songs from some of their favorite artists to their videos and found some of their older clips entirely muted.

That was months ago and there hadn’t been many updates since. That was at least until earlier this week when the label and social media platform surprised fans. They made the announcement that a new deal had been reached that would return all of UMG’s songs to the platform. The change hasn’t been fully enacted yet with some users still finding older videos in their catalog muted. It’s expected that the music will return to the platform within one to two weeks. The companies declined to release any hard financial data about the agreement they came to.

Read More: Too Short Speaks On TikTok Music And Embracing The New Age Sound

UMG and TikTok Reach New Agreement

The future of the entire TikTok platform could be in Jeopardy after a recent piece of legislation passed in the United States. Last month, President Biden signed a new bill into law that’s attempting to ban the platform. They’re calling for it to be removed unless its sold to new ownership. Experts claim that fans of the social media app won’t have to worry about it disappearing any time soon. Regardless the long term stability of the platform was certainly rocked by the ruling. That made the short term win of returning music to the platform a much needed victory.

What do you think of Universal Music Group and TikTok finally reaching an agreement to bring all of the labels songs to the platform? Do you think the debacle will lead other labels to try similar tactics when negotiating with the social media app? Let us know in the comment section below.

Read More: JT Gets Creative In Overcoming TikTok & UMG Dispute

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TikTokers, Rejoice: UMG Artists’ Catalogs Are Returning To The Platform Under A New Licensing Agreement

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TikTok’s future in the United States still hangs in the balance, but there is some positive TikTok-related news. (Unfortunately, it is not that Soulja Boy bought TikTok — not yet, at least.)

On Thursday morning, May 2, Universal Music Group and TikTok shared a joint press release confirming “a new multi-dimensional licensing agreement that will deliver significant industry-leading benefits for UMG’s global family of artists, songwriters, and labels and will return their music to TikTok’s billion-plus global community.”

All UMG artists’ catalogs were removed from TikTok on February 1 and remained absent from the platform, save for Taylor Swift ahead of the release of her The Tortured Poets Department album last month.

The joint agreement marks a new era of strategic collaboration between the two organizations, built on a shared commitment to help UMG’s artists and songwriters achieve their creative and commercial potential,” the press release outlines. “By harnessing TikTok’s best-in-class technology, marketing and promotional capabilities, UMG and TikTok will deliver improved remuneration for UMG’s songwriters and artists, new promotional and engagement opportunities for their recordings and songs and industry-leading protections with respect to generative AI.”

The press release additionally emphasizes a commitment to “new monetization opportunities utilizing TikTok’s growing e-commerce capabilities,” “artist-centric tools,” and “to protect human artistry.”

JT Gets Creative In Overcoming TikTok & UMG Dispute

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It’s no secret that Universal Music Group’s decision to pull their music from TikTok has wreaked havoc on artists and their promotional tactics. Luckily for JT, however, she has a plan to get around it. Earlier this week, the City Girl turned solo star announced her upcoming single “Okay,” which is expected to appear on her upcoming mixtape, City Cinderella. While she’s with UMG, she doesn’t plan on letting the algorithm mute the track, getting in the way of her success.

JT took to Twitter/X yesterday to unveil her plan. Before urging social media users to pre-save her song, she told them to spread distorted versions of it across TikTok. “Remember I’m with UMG so once song is out Tik Tok will be muted,” she wrote. “So try to get a distorted sound going I have one on my Tik Tok use it if you want or make your own IDC just spread the sound.”

Read More: JT Recalls A Fan Trying To Rap Battle Her At An Afterparty: “Y’all Getting Bold.”

JT Urges Fans To “Get A Distorted Sound Going”

“Okay” is available for pre-save now, and hopefully, JT’s plan will prove to be effective. Listeners are already eager to hear the full version and think the femcee has yet another hit on her hands. It’s not the only exciting thing she has on the way, however. JT still has a few dates left on her first-ever headlining solo tour. She’s scheduled to stop in West Palm Beach, Baltimore, New York, and more in the coming weeks.

The Miami-born performer has faced some criticism for her choice of venues on the tour, namely from GloRilla during their Twitter feud earlier this month. Fortunately, it doesn’t look like she’s taken it to heart. She jokingly told a crowd this week that she hasn’t had a “wack cookout” yet. Are you looking forward to JT’s new single “Okay”? What about her plan to bypass TikTok’s dispute with UMG? Share your thoughts in the comments section down below, and keep an eye on HNHH for more updates.

Read More: JT Loved Lil Uzi Vert’s Viral Coachella Dance Moves

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Birdman Says He’s Got “Love & Respect” For UMG For Letting Him Own Masters, But Fans Think Somethings Not Adding Up

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Birdman explained how his relationship with Univeral Music Group has helped him become rich and continue owning his masters during an interview with Steve-O on his Wild Ride! podcast. Despite the comments, many fans aren’t fully buying into everything he had to say.

The conversation began with Steve-O congratulating Birdman on Cash Money Records selling over one billion albums throughout its run. From there, they discussed the ownership of masters and Birdman admitted that he didn’t know anything about that side of the music industry when he first got into hip-hop. He said he was already caught up in “bullsh*t” by the time he understood the business side of things. “I did own everything,” he clarified. “I never allowed none of the labels to own anything. Universal never owned nothing. We owned all our own music and publishing. So, when I figured out and found out, I went and established what was missing and what was lost because we always owned everything. Still today, I own 100% of my company. I own 100% of my masters.”

Read More: Birdman Wants To Invest Some Serious Numbers Into Cash Money Reunion Tour

Birdman Attends Lil Wayne’s “Funeral” Album Release Party

MIAMI, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 01: Birdman and Lil Waune attend Lil Wayne’s “Funeral” album release party on February 01, 2020 in Miami, Florida (Photo by Gerardo Mora/Getty Images for Young Money/Republic Records)

From there, he added: “I’ve got nothing but love and respect for Universal because they never tried to take that from me. That was my consent that this is what I wanted to do and they never tried to take that from me. I know early on in other artists’ and other people’s careers, not to say Universal, but they took that from them. I never experienced that.” When The Art of Dialogue shared the clip on Twitter, fans expressed doubt at Birdman’s comments. “Something ain’t adding up birdman. Took you years to pay back lil Wayne,” one user wrote. Another added: “Bro robbed everybody that made him rich (and famous) don’t care what he owns as it’s probably ill gotten gains anyway.” Check out the full comments below.

Birdman Discusses Relationship With Universal Music Group

The interview arrives as Birdman has been feuding with Rick Ross on social media due to his beef with Drake. Be on the lookout for further updates on Birdman on HotNewHipHop.

Read More: Gucci Mane Shares Unique Way That Birdman Inspired Him

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UMG Rebuffed Lil Rod’s Diddy Lawsuit In A Fiery Response Calling His Claims ‘A Delusion Or A Lie’

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Universal Music Group would have had enough legal drama to deal with from its row with TikTok over streaming royalties. Unfortunately for Sir Lucian Grainge (CEO of UMG), the company now finds itself drawn into the legal ruckus between Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones and Sean “Diddy” Combs.

In Jones’ controversial sexual harassment suit against Combs, he’s alleged that the music mogul’s supposed transgressions have involved a number of celebrities and fellow recording industry higher-ups, including Grainge, Usher, Yung Miami, and even the UK’s Prince Harry. However, in a new court filing UMG blasted Jones and his accusations as its lawyers argued for UMG to be dismissed from the ongoing suit. In addition, UMG wants legal penalties levied against attorney Tyrone Blackburn, who filed Jones’ lawsuit.

In the new filing, which was shared on Twitter by legal affairs journalist Meghann Cuniff and reported by Billboard, Universal’s attorney Donald Zakarin writes:

“A license to practice law is a privilege. Mr. Blackburn, plaintiff’s lawyer, has misused that license to self-promote, gratuitously, falsely and recklessly accusing the UMG defendants of criminal behavior… The [complaint] hurls accusations of criminal racketeering and criminal sex trafficking against the UMG defendants, respected individuals and companies having utterly nothing to do with plaintiff’s claims. These accusations are recklessly false and, but for the fact that they are embodied in a complaint, would be libelous.

…I have never seen any lawyer, in any pleading, in any court, accuse people and companies of criminal conduct without the slightest basis and then try to file an amended pleading completely jettisoning every allegation underpinning the original claims and substituting completely different and irreconcilable allegations to support the very same claims.”

The response refutes claims that Grainge has ever been to one of Diddy’s supposed “freak parties,” and points out that the only UMG entity with dealings with Combs was Motown, to distribute one album, The Love Album: Off The Grid. You can see the filing in part below:

Is TikTok Removing Music?

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Let’s cut to the chase: Yes, TikTok has removed a ton of music from its platform. If you haven’t heard, the licensing agreement between TikTok and Universal Music Group expired yesterday, and as a result, all UMG artists‘ music must be removed or TikTok could face legal action for copyright infringement. That means artists like Taylor Swift, Drake, The Weeknd, Ariana Grande, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, and many, many, MANY more have been nixed, and no one is quite sure when or if they’ll be back, because UMG is adamant that TikTok hasn’t been negotiating in good faith.

Why Did UMG Remove Its Artists From TikTok?

Long story short, UMG’s leadership doesn’t feel that TikTok is offering fair market value for its artists. UMG also argues that while TikTok is building its own music platform, TikTok Music, and working on AI tools that may help users imitate real-life artists, it’s also undermining the value of any new licensing agreement, since the app could soon be flooded with more songs like AI-generated Drake song “Heart On My Sleeve.” This has been a pain point for the entire recording industry as these tools proliferate and possibly endanger fans’ interest in waiting for (and buying) the real artists’ actual songs.

In an open letter published on the company’s website on Tuesday (January 30), UMG wrote:

TikTok is trying to build a music-based business, without paying fair value for the music.

On AI, TikTok is allowing the platform to be flooded with AI-generated recordings—as well as developing tools to enable, promote and encourage AI music creation on the platform itself – and then demanding a contractual right which would allow this content to massively dilute the royalty pool for human artists, in a move that is nothing short of sponsoring artist replacement by AI.

Further, TikTok makes little effort to deal with the vast amounts of content on its platform that infringe our artists’ music and it has offered no meaningful solutions to the rising tide of content adjacency issues, let alone the tidal wave of hate speech, bigotry, bullying and harassment on the platform. The only means available to seek the removal of infringing or problematic content (such as pornographic deepfakes of artists) is through the monumentally cumbersome and inefficient process which equates to the digital equivalent of “Whack-a-Mole.”

While TikTok denied these accusations in a statement sent to Billboard, it also doesn’t appear that either company has any intentions to budge for the foreseeable future.

Why Aren’t Drake’s Songs On TikTok?

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Millions of people have developed the subconscious habit to open TikTok first thing in the morning, and if that’s you, you might notice that TikTok sounds different today, February 1: Drake is among many artists whose catalogs are no longer available under the “Sounds” tab to soundtrack a TikTok.

Here’s why.

Why Aren’t Drake’s Songs On TikTok?

In short, Universal Music Group (UMG) wasn’t bluffing. On Tuesday, January 30, UMG posted an open letter to address its expiring contract with TikTok.

“In our contract renewal discussions, we have been pressing them on three critical issues — appropriate compensation for our artists and songwriters, protecting human artists from the harmful effects of AI, and online safety for TikTok’s users,” it reads, in part. UMG additionally relayed that “TikTok attempted to bully us into accepting a deal worth less than the previous deal” during negotiations, leading to UMG no longer licensing UMG artists’ catalogs to TikTok.

UMG is one of the most vast label umbrellas in music. So, while Drake is signed to Republic Records, Republic falls under the UMG umbrella. Therefore, Drake’s music was stripped from TikTok.

TikTok released its own (much shorter) statement on Tuesday, as seen below:

“It is sad and disappointing that Universal Music Group has put their own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters.

Despite Universal’s false narrative and rhetoric, the fact is they have chosen to walk away from the powerful support of a platform with well over a billion users that serves as a free promotional and discovery vehicle for their talent.

TikTok has been able to reach ‘artist-first’ agreements with every other label and publisher. Clearly, Universal’s self-serving actions are not in the best interests of artists, songwriters and fans.”