Spotify denies Drake’s claims of inflating Kendrick Lamar’s streaming numbers for ‘Now not Like Us’ | The Specific Tribune
Spotify has formally denied allegations made via Drake in a felony submitting closing month, by which he accused the streaming provider and Common Tune Staff (UMG) of artificially inflating streaming numbers for Kendrick Lamar’s tune ‘Now not Like Us’.
The monitor, which takes direct verbal pictures at Drake, has turn out to be a flashpoint within the ongoing feud between the 2 artists.
In a felony petition filed via Drake via his corporate, Frozen Moments, the Canadian rapper alleged that Spotify and UMG labored in combination to inflate the tune’s streams. He additionally accused UMG of defamation. In reaction, Spotify briefly shot down the claims, submitting opposition papers with the courtroom.
A Spotify spokesperson said, “Spotify has no financial incentive for customers to flow Now not Like Us over any of Drake’s tracks. The corporate showed that it most effective used considered one of its promotional gear, Marquee, to spice up the tune—a €500 marketing campaign in France, which was once disclosed as a Subsidized Advice.” The remark went on to explain that neither Spotify nor UMG had any association to control the tune’s streaming numbers.
Moreover, Drake’s petition alleged that an unnamed particular person used bots to artificially inflate the tune’s streams via 30 million. Spotify spoke back via declaring that no proof supported this declare, including that the corporate has stringent measures in position to stop synthetic streaming.
UMG, which additionally distributes Drake’s tune, slammed the allegations, calling them “offensive and unfaithful.” A spokesperson from the label stated, “We make use of the best moral practices in our advertising and marketing and promotional campaigns. Enthusiasts make a choice the tune they need to listen, and no quantity of contrived felony arguments can alternate that.”
Drake’s felony filings additionally come with defamation allegations. One a part of the petition claims that UMG was once conscious that Now not Like Us falsely accused him of beside the point relationships, however selected to distribute the tune anyway. He additional alleged that UMG had paid iHeart, the biggest radio community within the U.S., to advertise the tune as a part of a “pay-to-play” scheme.
The petition argues that UMG deliberately made the tune a viral hit via the usage of the talk surrounding its content material to generate consideration—and income—at Drake’s expense. Then again, the petition stops in need of officially alleging defamation, suggesting that Drake’s felony workforce remains to be accumulating proof to improve their claims.
It’s price noting that neither Drake nor Lamar is immediately signed to UMG. Each artists, on the height in their careers, personal their masters via their respective corporations—Drake’s OVO and Lamar’s pgLang—whilst licensing their tune to UMG for distribution.
This felony struggle, although targeted round streaming practices, could also be an extension of the general public feud between the 2 rap superstars. Now not Like Us—a diss monitor aimed squarely at Drake—crowned the Billboard Sizzling 100 and is nominated for a number of Grammy Awards in 2025. Whether or not this example will lead to formal felony motion, and the way it will have an effect on the contention, remains to be up within the air.
