Drake has accused Universal Music Group and Spotify of conspiring to inflate Kendrick Lamar‘s diss track about the Canadian rapper, “Not Like Us,” upon its release.
In the Monday filing, Drake’s company Frozen Moments accused UMG of having a “scheme” with bots and payola to boost the song while the two artists were feuding, according to a filing obtained by Rolling Stone. The filing is not yet a lawsuit, but a “pre-action disclosure” for information.
“UMG did not rely on chance, or even ordinary business practices,” attorneys for Drake’s company wrote in the pre-action filed Monday, accusing UMG and Spotify of false advertisement, deceptive business practices, and violating the RICO Act. “It instead launched a campaign to manipulate and saturate the streaming services and airwaves.”
The filing claims that UMG “conspired with and paid currently unknown parties” to “artificially inflate” the spread of “Not Like Us.” The filing cited supposed claims from a “whistleblower” on a podcast that they were paid to boost the song once it was released.
Despite the accusations against Spotify, Drake has 10 million more monthly listeners on the platform than Lamar, even following the release of GNX. Lamar is the 23rd most-streamed artist on the platform, 10 spots behind the Canadian rapper, who’s at 13.
“The whistleblower described Spotify as the easiest platform ‘to bot’ because it does not, like other streaming platforms, have certain security measures ‘when it comes to bot protection,’” the filing claims. “The whistleblower further revealed that, on May 6, 2024, an individual affiliated with Interscope sent him a payment of $2,500 via the digital payments platform, Zelle.”
The petition also alleges that UMG paid Apple to have Siri “purposely misdirect users” to the Drake diss track, citing a Vibe article that claimed the Lamar song would play when Siri was asked to play Certified Lover Boy.
Drake’s attorneys also write that Lamar’s label paid social media influencers to “promote and endorse” the song without “disclosing the payment.” The attorneys further claim, without naming sources, that UMG workers who are “perceived as having loyalty to Drake” were fired from the company.
A rep for Spotify, and an attorney and rep for UMG, did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone‘s request for comment.
The legal filing comes mere days after Lamar released his “Not Like Us” follow-up album, GNX, on Friday. He also dropped the video for “Squabble Up” on Monday. (The diss track is up for numerous Grammys.)
