Drake’s UMG Appeal Set to Begin with Court-Ordered Mediation Session—Though a Settlement Seems Unlikely

Drake’s appeal in his case against UMG is rolling forward, beginning with a court-ordered mediation scheduled for next month.

After Drake’s defamation lawsuit against Universal Music Group was dismissed early last month, the rapper wasted no time in filing for an appeal. Now, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has scheduled a mediation session for next month, signaling that the battle isn’t yet over.

The mediation is scheduled for December 19 at 10:30 AM ET, led by Chief Circuit Mediator Kathleen M. Scanlon, who will conduct the discussion by phone. The session is expected to provide both Drake and UMG with the chance to lay out their positions, the merit of which will be gauged to determine if there is room for negotiation.

Drake filed his initial lawsuit in January, which quickly gained media attention on the heels of the Toronto native’s highly publicized feud with fellow rapper Kendrick Lamar. The filing asserted that UMG stood to gain from the so-called defamation of Drake by permitting Kendrick’s song, the award-winning and scathing diss track “Not Like Us,” which called him a “certified pedophile,” to circulate as written.

Curiously, while the allegations in his lawsuit swirled around UMG’s support of Lamar’s Drake diss track—and UMG is the parent company of both rappers’ labels—Kendrick himself was absent from the list of defendants.

Ultimately, Judge Jeannette Vargas ruled that, “Although the accusation is serious, […] the nature of a rap battle—often characterized y incendiary remarks—means that audiences do not expect to receive factual assertions.”

UMG asserted that Drake’s filing was unnecessary, and the company welcomed the court’s dismissal with an eagerness to move forward. But the mediation next month could change the trajectory of the conflict and potentially put additional pressure on the label juggernaut. That said, it’s perhaps more likely that Drake’s team will face added pressure, particularly if the meeting leans in UMG’s favor. Either way, a settlement seems unlikely.