A rapper versus his label is a tale as old as time. That’s why A Tribe Called Quest told us about industry rule 4,080: “record company people are shady.” Usually, it’s because an artist is in a terrible deal and is underpaid for their art. Or worse, the verbiage of the deal is so predatory, it’s almost impossible to escape. But West Coast legend The Game has a much different problem on his hands. He feels like they aren’t promoting him and his work enough.
In a report from Billboard, the Compton MC and his independent label, 100 Entertainment, alleged that UMG’s Virgin Music Group violated their distribution agreement. They partnered together for his 2022 album Drillmatic — Heart vs Mind. The record debuted at No. 12 on the Billboard 200 and only spent two weeks in total on the chart.
The Game and co. claimed that the album would’ve performed significantly better had the label devoted the amount of promotion money they promised to spend. Out of the $500k marketing budget, they spent just over a third, at $179k. Moreover, UMG reportedly didn’t spend any of its money on radio promotion and skipped numerous opportunities to boost its digital presence.
The Game is Taking UMG to Court Over Allegedly Not Promoting His Album Enough
Because of the label’s alleged inactivity in promotion, Game said in the lawsuit that he had to pay for his own marketing. According to the report, a “substantial portion” of the cost for his music video “Stupid” with Big Sean was out of his pocket. But UMG never paid back the LA rapper for his investment.
Consequently, The Game is seeking at least $500,000 due to the “diminished commercial performance” of Drillmatic and their lack of investment.
“Deprived of nearly two-thirds of its bargained-for promotional support during the critical release cycle, the album did not perform as it would have had Defendants administered the marketing and promotion fund as the parties approved,” The Game’s lawyer Michael Trauben wrote. “Plaintiff thereby lost royalties, streaming and sales revenues, and related income that the album would have generated with the promised marketing support, in an amount to be proven at trial.”
Drillmatic — Heart vs Mind had a hefty 30-song track list with a set of blockbuster features. He included Kanye West, A$AP Rocky, Cam’ron, Rick Ross, Big Sean, Chris Brown, and more on the album.
Photo by Kristy Sparow/Getty Images
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