The L.A. rapper says that UMG left two-thirds of his promo budget for ‘Drillmatic — Heart vs. Mind’ unspent.
ByShawn Setaro
October 2, 2026
The Game says that his record label refused to follow through on their marketing promises for his 2022 album, leaving almost two-thirds of a promised $500,000 unspent, which in turn significantly hurt his sales.
The L.A. rapper’s company 100 Entertainment, Inc. filed a lawsuit on Wednesday (Sept. 30) in California Superior Court against Universal Music Group and Virgin.
The Game says that UMG promised him a half-million dollar marketing and promotion fund for his 2022 LP Drillmatic — Heart vs. Mind,a full $125,000 of which was intended for radio.
Instead, he alleges, the label spent only $179,274.79, none of which went to radio. The complaint says that the plurality of the money spent ($87,947.58 of a promised $170,000) went to videos, with the rest split between out-of-home advertising, digital, and overseas promotion. This happened, the complaint continues, despite the label signing off on a marketing plan that covered the entire promised amount.
As a result, The Game says he had to spend his own money on marketing, including paying “a substantial portion of the production costs” for the video for the Big Sean-featuring track “Stupid.”
The fact that the label shorted the marketing budget, the complaint alleges, meant that the LP’s commercial performance suffered, and that The Game as a result lost out on royalties, streaming revenue, and money from album sales. He is suing for damages of at least $500,000, as well as court costs and attorneys’ fees.
Complex has reached out to The Game’s lawyers for comment, but they did not immediately respond.
