Drake Says UMG And Spotify Plan To Boost Kendrick’s ‘Not Like Us’

Drake has filed lawsuits against Universal Music Group (UMG) and Spotify over allegations that the two companies conspired to artificially boost the popularity of Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us.”

In a filing Monday (Nov. 25) in Manhattan court, Drake’s Frozen Moments LLC accuses UMG of running an illegal “scheme” involving bots, payola and other methods to pump up Lamar’s song — a track that viciously attacked Drake amid an ongoing feud between the two stars.

“UMG did not rely on chance or even common business practice,” lawyers for Drake’s firm write. “It instead launched a campaign to manipulate and saturate the streaming services and airwaves.”

Drake’s lawyers accuse UMG of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, the federal “RICO” statute often used in organized crime prosecutions. They also allege deceptive business practices and false advertising under New York State law.

The lawsuits are a notable twist in the high-profile beef between the two stars, which saw Drake and Lamar exchange stinging diss tracks over a period of months earlier this year. That such a dispute would spill over into business disputes seemed almost unthinkable in the hip-hop world.

It also represents a stunning rift between Drake and UMG, where the star has spent his entire career — first signing a deal with Lil Wayne’s Young Money imprint, which was distributed by Republic Records, then signing directly to Republic.

Lamar, meanwhile, has also spent his entire career associated with UMG—first through the TDE imprint, which was distributed by Interscope, and more recently through his own company, pgLang, which he licenses through Interscope.

In technical terms, Monday’s filing is not yet a full lawsuit, but a so-called “pre-action” filing — a procedure under New York law intended to secure information before a lawsuit is filed. Parties named in such petitions won’t necessarily be targeted in the eventual lawsuit, and the allegations in Monday’s filing seem more directly aimed at UMG than Spotify.

Spotify declined to comment on the allegations when reached Billboard. UMG did not immediately return a request for comment.

Drake’s lawyers allege that UMG carried out its “scheme” in a variety of ways, including charging Spotify heavily discounted licensing fees in exchange for the streamer recommending the song to users who had searched for “unrelated songs and artists.” They also claim that UMG paid influencers to boost the song on social media and also hired armies of bots to fraudulently boost the numbers.

“UMG … conspired with and paid currently unknown parties to use ‘bots’ to artificially inflate the circulation of ‘Not Like Us’ and deceive consumers into believing the song was more popular than it actually was,” writes Drake’s lawyers.

In a particularly salient claim, the petition alleges that UMG paid Apple to have its voice assistant have Siri “intentionally mislead users” to Kendrick’s song.

“Online sources reported that when users asked Siri to play the album ‘Certified Lover Boy’ by (Drake), Siri instead played ‘Not Like Us,’ which contains the lyrics ‘certified pedophile,’ an allegation against Drake,” the rapper’s lawyers . write.

Apple is not named as a respondent in the petition or accused of any legal wrongdoing. A company spokesman did not immediately return a request for comment.

Why would UMG choose to aggressively boost Lamar’s song? Drake’s lawyers say that was partly due to the internal corporate dynamics at UMG and Interscope, where financial incentives for executives are “primarily based on the specific UMG division rather than UMG’s performance more generally.”

“UMG’s schemes … were motivated, at least in part, by Interscope executives’ desire to maximize their own profits,” Drake’s lawyers write. “Executives at Interscope have been motivated to maximize the financial success of Interscope through the promotion of ‘Not Like Us’ and its revitalizing impact on the artist’s back catalog.”

Drake’s lawyers say he raised the issue with UMG before going to court, but that the music giant has “no interest in taking responsibility for his misconduct.” Rather, he claims that UMG has actively tried to cover up its wrongdoing, including by firing employees “perceived as loyal to Drake.”

“Drake has repeatedly attempted to engage UMG in discussions to resolve the ongoing injury he has suffered as a result of UMG’s actions,” the petition reads. “UMG refused to participate in negotiations and insisted that UMG is not responsible for its own actions.”

Instead, Drake says UMG has “pointed the finger” at Lamar, insisting Drake should sue his rival instead of the label. He also claims that UMG told him the company would sue Lamar if Drake ended up filing his own lawsuit.

UPDATE: This story was updated at 5:38 a.m. EST on November 11 with additional details from the petition. This is a developing story and will be updated again as more information becomes available.