Ledger Read · Same label, two filings

UMG needed Drake to prove someone knew. Now it says ignorance wouldn't be a defense.

When Drake sued over Not Like Us, UMG told the court he had to name specific people at the label who knew the song was false, and mocked his claims for resting on "information and belief". Two days ago UMG sued DistroKid, and wrote the opposite sentences. We read both filings. Here they are, side by side.

By CLERK · the desk that reads the paperwork ·

2025S.D.N.Y. · No. 1:25‑cv‑399

Graham v. UMG Recordings

Drake says UMG published and pushed a record it knew was defamatory. Dismissed 9 October 2025. On appeal.

UMG is defending
2026D. Del. · filed 15 Sep 2026

UMG and Capitol v. DistroKid

UMG says a distributor knowingly kept shipping infringing recordings and AI content farms.

UMG is suing

The quote duel

Three questions. UMG answered each one twice.

Left: UMG's motion to dismiss Drake's case. Right: UMG's complaint against DistroKid. Every line is quoted from the filing itself, linked under each quote.

Round 1Does the company have to know?
UMG as defendant
Because UMG is a corporation, Drake must also plead "specific allegations that individuals at [UMG] acted with actual malice" ... Drake does not‑‑and cannot‑‑plead that any specific person acted with actual malice.
UMG motion to dismiss, 2025
UMG as plaintiff
DistroKid cannot claim ignorance (which wouldn't be a defense anyway).
UMG and Capitol complaint, ¶17, 2026
Round 2Is "on information and belief" good enough?
UMG as defendant
All of his allegations are "on information and belief."
UMG, attacking Drake's bot and payola claims, 2025
UMG as plaintiff 6x in 52 pages
On information and belief, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions, and possibly more of the recordings distributed by DistroKid are purely AI content
UMG and Capitol complaint, ¶108, 2026
Round 3What did the company actually do?
UMG as defendant
UMG released a rap diss track, conveying rhetoric and insults
UMG motion to dismiss, footnote 16, 2025
UMG as plaintiff
DistroKid has recording-by-recording knowledge and has made a business decision to keep infringing everywhere DistroKid has not yet been caught.
UMG and Capitol complaint, ¶17, 2026

What UMG says it found

The "artists" at the centre of the DistroKid case

UMG's complaint names three account holders to show what it calls an AI-slop pipeline. Bars at true scale. The red share is the portion the complaint says is raw output from the AI generator Suno.

Lofi Chill4,562 tracks in 12 months
DistroKid's highest-volume account holder, per the complaint. No Suno share given.
Chill Flow Radio1,901 tracks in 12 months
over 97% raw Suno output, per the complaint
Mellow Vibes Radio1,615 tracks in 12 months
over 98% raw Suno output, per the complaint
tracks in 12 monthsraw Suno output, per the complaint
$150Kmaximum statutory damages per work UMG asks for, under 17 U.S.C. § 504(c)
~12Mtracks DistroKid sent one streaming service in six months, "over half of all tracks delivered", per the complaint
30-40%of newly distributed music: DistroKid's own claim, as quoted in the complaint

Footnote 5 of the complaint: "This lawsuit is not about the distribution of AI-generated music when clearly disclosed as such." Figures from the stamped complaint, via MBW.

How we got here

Twenty months, two courtrooms

  1. Jan 2025Drake sues UMG

    S.D.N.Y. No. 1:25‑cv‑399. Defamation, harassment, and a deceptive-practices claim over bots and payola.

  2. 2025UMG moves to dismiss

    Opinion, no actual malice, and allegations made "on information and belief".

  3. 9 Oct 2025Case dismissed

    Judge Vargas: a heated rap battle would not make listeners think Not Like Us states facts (NBC).

  4. Jan 2026Drake's opening brief

    The appeal reaches the Second Circuit (MBW).

  5. Mar-Apr 2026Briefing closes

    UMG responds, asks for oral argument on 10 April; Drake replies 17 April (MBW).

  6. 15 Sep 2026UMG sues DistroKid

    D. Del. Deceptive trade practices plus direct and vicarious infringement.

  7. NextSecond Circuit

    No argument date or ruling found as of 17 September 2026.

The fair objection

UMG's lawyers would say these are different laws. They are right. That is the point.

  • Defamation and copyright use different standards. A public figure suing for defamation has to show actual malice, a First Amendment rule. Copyright infringement does not require knowledge at all; knowledge mostly moves the damages. So "ignorance wouldn't be a defense" is a correct statement of copyright law.
  • "On information and belief" is routine pleading. UMG's 2025 attack was that Drake's bot and payola scheme was implausible, not that the phrase itself is forbidden.
  • UMG never claimed to be a mere pipe for Not Like Us. It owned the release and won on opinion: the judge found a heated rap battle would not make listeners think the song states facts (NBC).
The law gives a label a high bar when it is the one that published, and a low bar when it is the one suing. UMG used both in the same two years, and an artist is the one who found out which is which.
01The Second Circuit

Drake argues the dismissal created a categorical rule that diss tracks can never be defamatory (MBW). No argument date found yet.

02DistroKid's answer

Whether DistroKid attacks the "on information and belief" allegations the way UMG attacked Drake's.

03Knowledge, in writing

If DistroKid argues it could not know what millions of uploads contained, UMG's 2025 brief will be the most quoted document in the case.

Primary documents. We read both filings in full and quote them exactly. Double hyphens are as written in the filings.
  1. UMG Recordings' memorandum in support of its motion to dismiss, Graham v. UMG Recordings, S.D.N.Y. No. 1:25‑cv‑399
  2. Complaint, UMG Recordings, Capitol Records and Capitol CMG v. DistroKid, D. Del., filed 15 September 2026
  3. Music Business Worldwide on the DistroKid suit · MBW on Drake's appeal · NBC on the dismissal

Published 2026-09-17. Corrections are dated and public. Related: Drake's FOMO tracklist · The 35-year clock · Ownership