Drake Alleges UMG and Spotify Manipulated Streams for Kendrick Lamar's 'Not Like Us'
Drake has filed a court petition alleging that Universal Music Group (UMG) and Spotify artificially inflated the popularity of Kendrick Lamar's diss track "Not Like Us." The filing, submitted by Drake's company Frozen Moments LLC in New York Court, seeks information preservation for a potential lawsuit against UMG.
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The legal filing claims UMG orchestrated a campaign to manipulate streaming numbers through bots and pay-to-play agreements. Drake's company alleges that UMG offered Spotify special licensing rates to boost the song's performance and fired employees loyal to Drake to cover up these activities.
"Not Like Us," released in May, has garnered over 900 million Spotify plays and is widely considered a decisive moment in the ongoing Drake-Kendrick feud. The track contains provocative lyrics directly targeting Drake.
UMG has strongly denied these allegations, stating they "employ the highest ethical practices" and calling the claims "offensive and untrue." They assert that fan choice, not manipulation, drives streaming numbers.
Spotify has not yet commented on these specific allegations but has previously stated they actively work to prevent artificial streaming through both automated and manual review processes.
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