In a dramatic escalation of his feud with Kendrick Lamar, Drake has initiated legal proceedings against Universal Music Group (UMG) and Spotify, accusing them of conspiring to artificially inflate the popularity of Lamar’s track Not Like Us. The allegations, detailed in a pre-action filing on Monday, Nov. 25, suggest a campaign of unethical practices that bolstered Lamar’s song while damaging Drake’s reputation.
The Allegations
According to court documents filed by Drake’s Frozen Moments LLC, UMG orchestrated a scheme involving bots, payola, and deceptive advertising to manipulate the performance of Not Like Us. Drake’s attorneys claim these actions included:
Bot Usage: Artificially inflating the song’s streaming numbers to deceive listeners.
Reduced Licensing Rates: Offering Spotify discounted rates in exchange for promoting Lamar’s track to users searching for unrelated artists, including Drake.
Siri Manipulation: Allegedly paying Apple to redirect users asking for Drake’s Certified Lover Boy to Not Like Us, which contains a lyric accusing Drake of misconduct.
Social Media Influence: Paying influencers to promote the track aggressively.
“UMG did not rely on chance, or even ordinary business practices,” Drake’s lawyers wrote in the filing. “It instead launched a campaign to manipulate and saturate the streaming services and airwaves.”
The Feud Spills Over
The lawsuit marks a significant development in the ongoing tension between Drake and Lamar, who exchanged diss tracks earlier this year. Lamar’s Not Like Us directly targeted Drake, and the legal filing claims UMG leveraged the song’s controversy to maximize its visibility.
Drake’s attorneys suggest that UMG’s actions were financially motivated, citing internal incentives for executives at Interscope, the division representing Lamar. They allege that these executives prioritized Lamar’s success to boost their profits, even at the expense of other UMG artists, including Drake.
UMG’s Response
In a statement to Billboard, UMG denied the allegations, calling them “offensive and untrue.” A spokesperson added:
“We employ the highest ethical practices in our marketing and promotional campaigns. No amount of contrived and absurd legal arguments in this pre-action submission can mask the fact that fans choose the music they want to hear.”
Spotify declined to comment on the case.
The Pre-Action Petition
While the filing is not yet a full-fledged lawsuit, the pre-action petition seeks to uncover additional evidence before proceeding. The allegations focus primarily on UMG, with Spotify playing a secondary role. Apple, implicated in the Siri redirection claims, has not been named in the filing and has not commented on the matter.
A Rift Between Drake and UMG
The lawsuit represents a startling rift between Drake and UMG, the label that has supported his career from the start. Initially signed under Lil Wayne’s Young Money imprint, distributed by Republic Records, Drake later transitioned to working directly with Republic, a UMG subsidiary.
Drake claims he attempted to address the matter privately with UMG, but the label refused to engage in meaningful discussions or accept responsibility for the alleged misconduct. Instead, he alleges, UMG fired staffers loyal to him and suggested he sue Lamar directly.
“Drake has repeatedly sought to engage UMG in discussions to resolve the ongoing harm he has suffered,” the filing states. “UMG refused to engage in negotiations.”
What’s Next?
As this legal battle unfolds, it represents a rare intersection of hip-hop rivalry and corporate litigation, raising questions about the ethics of music promotion in the streaming era. The case is still in its early stages, and whether it proceeds to a full lawsuit remains to be seen.
For now, fans of both artists and industry observers are left to watch as this high-stakes drama continues to play out both in the courtroom and on the charts.
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