Drake accuses UMG and Spotify of “illegally inflating” Kendrick Lamar diss track 'Not Like Us'

Drake has issued a legal filing against both Universal Music Group (UMG) and Spotify, claiming that the major label and streaming giant conspired to boost streams of Kendrick Lamar’s Drake-aimed diss track ‘Not Like Us’.

The rapper, who has been feuding with Kendrick for more than a decade, claims that both UMG and Spotify “illegally inflated” streams of the track using bots, biased recommendations to listeners, and “undisclosed payments”, per court documents seen by Pitchfork.

A petition was filed to a New York court on Monday, November 25, also alleging that UMG and Spotify suppressed Drake’s music in a “campaign to manipulate and saturate the streaming services and airwaves”.

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Drake also filed a separate petition against UMG shortly after claiming that Kendrick’s ‘Not Like Us’ is defamatory, with his lawyers alleging that the track “falsely accuses him of being a sex offender, engaging in pedophilic acts, harboring sex offenders, and committing other criminal sexual acts,” (per Billboard).

Lawyers for Drake’s company Frozen Moments LLC claim that UMG should not have allowed the track to be released, accusing it of defamation and damage to Drake’s reputation.

“UMG designed, financed and then executed a plan to turn ‘Not Like Us’ into a viral mega-hit with the intent of using the spectacle of harm to Drake and his businesses to drive consumer hysteria and, of course, massive revenues,” the petition reads. “That plan succeeded, likely beyond UMG’s wildest expectations.”

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The legal action also accuses the major label of paying iHeartRadio to play the hit diss track in a “pay-to-play” scheme, and also paid influencers to promote the track on social media.

“[UMG] conspired with and paid currently unknown parties to use ‘bots’ to artificially inflate the spread of ‘Not Like Us’ and deceive consumers into believing the song was more popular than it was in reality,” Drake’s lawyers wrote (via The Guardian).

While the legal filings are not lawsuits, both cases request information from those involved for a possible legal case further down the line.

Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Assistant Editor, follow her on Twitter