Rapper The Game and his company, 100 Entertainment, have sued Virgin Music Group and Universal Music Group over an alleged failure to provide most of a $500,000 marketing budget promised for his 2022 album, Drillmatic — Heart vs. Mind.
The complaint, filed Sept. 30 in California Superior Court by attorney Michael Trauben, alleges Virgin agreed to allocate $500,000 to promote the album. The budget was intended to cover radio promotion, music videos, digital advertising, and international marketing.
According to the lawsuit, roughly $320,000 of the promised budget was never spent on those efforts. The complaint also alleges UMG failed to carry out key digital marketing operations.
Radio promotion was allocated $125,000, but the lawsuit claims no money was spent on radio advertising. The Game and 100 Entertainment contend the missing promotional support limited the album’s exposure during its critical release period.
The complaint further alleges 100 Entertainment paid certain promotional expenses to keep the rollout on schedule, including production of the video for “Stupid,” featuring Big Sean.
Hip-Hop Star The Game Files Lawsuit Against Virgin/UMG Over Drillmatic’s Underwhelming Performance
According to the filing, UMG did not reimburse 100 Entertainment for those expenses. Instead, the company allegedly recouped the costs from The Game’s royalties.
The lawsuit contends that the alleged marketing shortfall negatively affected Drillmatic’s sales and streaming performance and that the album could have performed better had the full promotional commitment been delivered.
The Game is seeking $500,000 in damages.
Released in 2022, Drillmatic featured 30 tracks and appearances from Kanye West, Big Sean and Drake. Its production credits included Timbaland, Swizz Beatz, Mike Dean and Hit-Boy.
The album debuted at No. 12 on the Billboard 200 with approximately 25,000 equivalent album units in its first week, according to industry figures.
The case highlights the financial disputes that can arise when artists allege record companies fail to meet contractual marketing commitments.
Virgin Music Group and UMG have not publicly responded to the allegations.
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