Drake; Kendrick Lamar
Carmen Mandato/Getty Images; Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images
Drake has accused Universal Music Group (UMG) of conspiring to inflate Kendrick Lamar‘s diss track about the 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. Drake is also signed to UMG through Republic Records.
“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 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 about 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 did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone‘s request for comment. A spokesman for UMG denied Drake’s allegations.
“The suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue,” the UMG spokesperson said. “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.”
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.)
Just on Friday, UMG responded to Fred Durst’s fraud lawsuit saying the Limp Bizkit frontman’s allegations against the company were “based on a fallacy.” The company asked for the case to be tossed. “Plaintiffs’ entire narrative that UMG tried to conceal royalties is a fiction,” the company said in their motion on Friday.
Durst originally that the record company had “designed and implemented royalty software and systems that were deliberately designed to conceal artists’ royalties and keep those profits for itself.”
From Rolling Stone US.
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