From time immemorial record labels have refused to have any responsibility for the recordings and actions of their artists. Which is kind of funny, since in almost all cases the labels own the recordings outright, yet treat the acts like independent contractors. There's no health insurance. No benefits. The acts are on their own.
But when whatever the act does blows back on the labels they say...WHO ME COACH? I'm just an innocent bystander!
Record companies are not internet companies with no responsibility for the postings of their users under the law, there is no legal protection for labels. And unlike Facebook or YouTube or Instagram or TikTok, record companies don't deal with an unlimited amount of talent posting willy-nilly. There are a very limited number of acts and the labels kn0w exactly what they're releasing. Which would imply some responsibility, right?
So it's all fun and games until someone starts shooting. Which is what happened to Drake as a result of the Kendrick Lamar recordings. Could the labels have foreseen these consequences? ABSOLUTELY! But as rappers are shooting each other on a regular basis, the labels have stood aside... After all, it's THOSE people. What would happen if these rappers were white? Then again, Kurt Cobain committed suicide and the label accepted no responsibility. The label, and oftentimes the manager and agent, want the act to continue to work, screw their mental health, these percentage takers must get PAID!
And it's not like the labels didn't know exactly what was in the Kendrick Lamar lyrics...
And unlike so many of the inner city rappers who grew up under strained, dangerous circumstances, Drake is a middle class Jew, who made his name in a television program, "Degrassi." Drake's image is not based on danger. He got roped into this pissing match.
Sure, he responded, but when you're accused of being a pedophile...
Meanwhile, it's all a gold mine for the rights holders, i.e. UMG. All that attention, all those streams. Forget that Questlove called it the end of hip-hop, the revenues that rained down were astronomical. You might be complaining about Spotify payments, but "Not Like Us" has over a billion streams on the platform, and that volume generates an enormous amount of cash and lifts all boats, engendering more Lamar streams and as a result, an embellished image. Would Kendrick be playing the Super Bowl without "Not Like Us"? Not likely.
Meanwhile, Drake's image has taken a significant hit. Conventional wisdom is that he lost the rap battle, is a weasly loser. Good luck with streams in the future.
Now Taylor Swift blew it in front of a worldwide audience at the Grammys and it didn't hurt her career at all, maybe this is the same situation with Drake, but I wouldn't bet on it.
Ever been to a record company?
There's a majordomo who is paid seven, sometimes eight figures, with no expenses. They feel like titans, above the riff-raff. And the riff-raff makes the trains run on time, the little people do the dirty work. And everybody wants a lot of streams for their bonus, assuming they even get one.
And these are not law school graduates doing the dirty work. Oftentimes they've got no degree at all, they don't understand the concept of ethics, of consequences, it's a team mentality, working a record is like war, and you don't worry about collateral damage, but if there is some...
David Geffen famously refused to release music by the Geto Boys, who were signed to his label. Then again, this was before Geffen sold his label to Matsushita, he truly owned the company, it was his name on the records, and he felt responsibility.
No one at UMG built the label from scratch, everybody's an employee. They're detached. Furthermore, consolidation means there are only three major companies, this conflict of interest was not an issue in the six majors world. But Universal's market share is gigantic!
I don't know the facts, they will be revealed at trial, assuming there ever is one, which is doubtful, these cases are always settled.
UMG's response to the lawsuit doesn't matter. All that matters is in the future, the brain dead worker bees will think twice about what they do. If there's implied or possible danger, if rank falsehoods are distributed, they're going to scratch their chins and maybe say they'll sit this one out, maybe this record should be released independently. And, if they do get behind a record and there are consequences, they should be responsible for them.
Come on, was it foreseeable that there would be violence in the wake of the rap war, especially in light of the false accusations? OF COURSE! But Universal didn't even contemplate this on its way to riches, or didn't even care.
We live in a bizarre so-called democracy that's supposed to be run by the rule of law, but even the Supreme Court is biased, untrustworthy, never mind hacks like Aileen Cannon. So why do you expect those further down the food chain to be worried about the legal system?
They're not.
But unless we hold people and corporations responsible for their actions... And let's not forget, the Supreme Court said corporations are people.
It doesn't matter whether the labels skated in the past. In the present, is it all right to release and promote music that contains falsehoods that put others in danger?
Think about it.
One thing is for sure, as a result of this lawsuit the labels sure will be.
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