Drake is taking legal action against Universal Music Group and Spotify over allegations that the companies worked together to artificially inflate the streaming numbers for Kendrick Lamar's “Not Like Us.”
In a “pre-action” petition filed Monday in Manhattan federal court, Drake’s Frozen Moments LLC accused UMG of engaging in an illegal “scheme” involving the use of bots to boost the popularity of “Not Like Us.” ” on Spotify and make “undercover “payments” to radio stations to increase the song’s airplay (via Billboard).
Drake claims to have an “insider source” who alerted him to UMG's plan.
“UMG did not rely on chance, or even ordinary business practices,” attorneys for Drake’s company wrote in their filing. “Instead, he launched a campaign to manipulate and saturate streaming services and the airwaves.”
Originally released on May 4 as part of a series of back-and-forth tracks between Lamar and Drake, the track hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the fastest rap song on Spotify to amass 700 million streams. reproductions. and recently earned five Grammy nominations, including Record and Song of the Year.
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