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Drake Accuses UMG & Spotify of Inflating 'Not Like Us' | Billboard News
Billboard
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11/26/2024
Drake has filed legal action against UMG and Spotify over Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” claiming the song’s numbers were inflated. Keep watching to see the full story.
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Music
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00:00
♪ I'm about to click out all this shit, I'm about to click ♪
00:03
Drake is in his first-person shooter mood
00:05
as he files legal action against UMG and Spotify,
00:09
alleging that the two companies conspired
00:11
to artificially inflate the popularity
00:13
of Kendrick Lamar's Not Like Us track.
00:16
♪ They not like us, they not like us, they not like us ♪
00:19
This is the beef that keeps on beefing.
00:21
After cooling down for a few months,
00:23
new tensions arise in the ongoing strife
00:26
between rappers Drake and Kendrick Lamar.
00:28
Mere days after Kendrick Lamar released his latest album,
00:31
GNX, which takes a few shots at the Canadian rapper,
00:34
the petty king himself turned things up a notch
00:36
by filing on Monday in Manhattan court.
00:39
Drake's attorneys accused UMG of violating
00:41
the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act,
00:44
the federal RICO statue often used in criminal cases
00:47
against organized crime.
00:49
They also alleged deceptive business practices
00:52
and false advertising under New York state law.
00:54
The legal action comes as a surprise
00:56
as UMG has distributed Drake's music for his entire career.
01:00
In a statement to Billboard,
01:01
a UMG spokesperson sharply denied Drake's allegations.
01:04
The suggestion that UMG would do anything
01:07
to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue.
01:10
We employ the highest ethical practices
01:12
in our marketing and promotional campaigns.
01:14
No amount of contrived and absurd legal arguments
01:16
in this pre-action submission can mask the fact
01:19
that fans chose the music they want to hear.
01:22
In their filings, Drake's lawyers write,
01:24
UMG conspired and paid currently unknown parties
01:27
to use bots to artificially inflate the spread
01:29
of Not Like Us and deceive customers
01:32
into believing the song was more popular
01:34
than it was in reality.
01:36
From the looks of things, this beef isn't going anywhere.
01:38
They're locked in and so are we.
01:41
Billboard has reached out to reps for Spotify
01:43
and Kendrick for comment.
01:45
We'll keep you updated as this story develops
01:47
here on Billboard News.
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