Drake has withdrawn his legal petition against Spotify and Universal Music Group over allegations of artificially inflating Kendrick Lamar’s song ‘Not Like Us’. This whole situation has been wild!
For those who don’t know, Drake had filed a lawsuit claiming that Spotify and UMG were manipulating the streaming numbers of Kendrick’s song which sort of accuse him of being a pedophile. But things have taken a turn because Drake has decided to drop the case.
There’s been a lot of speculation. Some people say that he realized the legal battle was just going to be too expensive and time-consuming. Others think there may have been some behind-the-scenes negotiations or settlements happening. Who knows?
In a New York filing on Tuesday reviewed by Variety, Drake and his Frozen Moments company withdrew its order to show cause seeking pre-action disclosure and preservation of certain documents and communications from both companies. The court document explains that Drake met with representatives on Tuesday and Spotify, which had filed an opposition, had no objection to the withdrawal and discontinuance, while UMG, which hadn’t filed an opposition, reserved its position.
Drake made waves in Nov. 2024 when he first accused UMG — which distributes both his and Lamar’s music — of using bots and payola to juice the numbers for “Not Like Us,” a track that accuses Drake of pedophilia and cultural appropriation. The petition, which was not a full lawsuit but rather a “pre-action” move, claimed that UMG “engaged in conduct designed to artificially inflate the popularity of ‘Not Like Us’…including by licensing the song at drastically reduced rates to Spotify and using ‘bots’ to generate the false impression that the song was more popular than it was in reality.”
UMG shared a statement with Variety at the time, denouncing Drake’s accusations. “The suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue,” read the statement. “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.”
Spotify took their objection to court by filing opposition papers in late December. “Spotify has no economic incentive for users to stream ‘Not Like Us’ over any of Drake’s tracks,” a spokesperson said. “Only one of Spotify for Artists’ tools, Marquee, was purchased on behalf of the song, for €500 to promote the track in France. Marquee is a visual ad that is disclosed to users as a Sponsored Recommendation.”
The streaming platform also asserted that UMG and Spotify “have never had any arrangement in which UMG ‘charged Spotify licensing rates 30 percent lower than its usual licensing rates for ‘Not Like Us’ in exchange for Spotify affirmatively recommending [“Not Like Us”],’ including to users who are searching for other songs and artists.”
All of this stemmed from a heated back-and-forth between Lamar and Drake that ignited after the former dropped a verse on Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That” in March 2024.
This whole situation has been a rollercoaster. It just goes to show that even the biggest names in the music industry aren’t immune to drama and legal disputes. But hey, maybe we’ll get some juicy details about what went down for Drake to withdraw his legal petition. Until then, let’s just enjoy the music and hope things calm down in the industry.
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