Why Rapper Drake Filed Lawsuit Against UMG And Spotify
Canadian rapper Drake has initiated legal action against Universal Music Group (UMG) and Spotify over allegations that the two companies had conspired to artificially inflate the popularity of Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us.”
In the case filed in Manhattan court on Monday, Drakes’s company Frozen Moments had accused UMG of launching an illegal “scheme” involving bots, payola, and other methods to increase the reach of Lamar’s song.
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“UMG did not rely on chance or even ordinary business practices,” attorneys for Drake’s company stated. “It instead launched a campaign to manipulate and saturate the streaming services and airwaves.”
The court filing has become the latest twist in the bruising beef between Drake and Kendrick Lamar.
Drake’s attorneys accused UMG of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations Act, the federal “RICO” statute often used in criminal cases against organised crime.
As Billboard reports, it says that Monday’s filing is not yet a full lawsuit but is known as a “pre-action” petition, a procedure under New York law that aims to secure information before filing a lawsuit.
However, a UMG spokesperson, in a statement to Billboard, sharply denied Drake’s allegations: “The suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue. 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.”
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Spotify has not yet commented on the issue.
In the petition filed, it claims that UMG paid Apple to have its voice assistant feature Siri “purposely misdirect users” to Kendrick’s song.
However, Apple is not named as a respondent in the petition nor accused of any legal wrongdoing.
