Drake is unsurprisingly causing a lot of conversation with his three new albums, led by the highly anticipated ICEMAN. Folks online continue to discuss streaming drop-offs and risers day-to-day, dissect lyrics, share their favorite tracks, and debate about the material within. But this social media discussion allegedly saw some obstacles in the way due to alleged copyright strikes on behalf of his parent label, Universal Music Group (UMG).
As caught by @clippedszn on Twitter, a leaked email shows how dozens of users on the platform allegedly received copyright strikes for their posts featuring songs from these new albums. The alleged email is specifically from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) and claims the posts are making copyrighted work unlawfully unavailable to the public.
This led to many conspiracy theories, speculative potential explanations, criticisms, and debates to surface online. Given Drake's dodgy relationship with UMG, many folks claim this is an outright suppressing of the trilogy. Others believe this is standard practice for major label releases, or claimed the opposite practice of "white-listing" copyrighted content was something Drizzy himself opposed in his legal battle with the label.
All of this remains unconfirmed and speculative at press time. The exact reason for this is unclear, but people are peddling Kendrick Lamar-related conspiracy theories and industry manipulation as possible explanations. In all likelihood, folks will not get a definitively clear answer for this complex topic. But it's not the best look for UMG considering what's going on in court.
Drake's UMG Lawsuit
For those unaware, Drake is currently appealing his dismissed UMG lawsuit. He sued the label for defamation over releasing K.Dot's "Not Like Us" diss track and allegedly boosting its reach beyond reason. The court dismissed this lawsuit, but it's not dead yet.
This copyright situation also caught fans' attention due to Drake's alleged UMG exit after his three albums. Some fans speculated that this trilogy fulfilled his contract, so he can now go independent.
Reactions To Alleged ICEMAN Takedowns
But again, nothing has confirmed that at press time. We will have to see how this situation evolves and whether Twitter users update others on their takedown debacles.
