Drake Claims Universal Music and Spotify ‘Artificially Inflated’ Kendrick Lamar’s Numbers for ‘Not Like Us’ Diss Track

variety.com:

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music In the latest twist in the bruising beef between Drake and Kendrick Lamar, the Canadian rapper has initiated legal action against Universal Music Group and Spotify over allegations that the two companies conspired to artificially inflate the popularity of Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us.” The action is doubly surprising because UMG distributes both artists’ recordings.

In a filing Monday in Manhattan court first reported by Billboard, Drake’s Frozen Moments LLC accused UMG of launching an illegal “scheme” involving bots, payola and other methods to boost the numbers for Lamar’s viciously personal song, which accuses Drake of pedophilia and amplified the already fiery dispute between the two artists.

The petition, obtained by Variety, claims 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.” While other streaming services are not named in the petition, it does claim that “UMG appears to have used similar tactics with other streaming services.

On information and belief, UMG paid, or approved payments to, Apple Inc. to have its voice-activated digital assistant ‘Siri’ purposely misdirect users to ‘Not Like Us.'” “UMG did not rely on chance, or even ordinary business practices,” Drake’s company’s lawyers wrote. “It instead launched a campaign to manipulate and saturate the streaming services and airwaves.” Reps for Drake, Lamar, Spotify and UMG either declined or did not immediately respond to Variety’s requests for comment.