Drake’s team claim Universal “artificially inflated” Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’ streaming numbers

nme.com:

Drake and his team have filed a legal dispute against Universal Music Group (UMG) and Spotify for allegedly “artificially inflating” Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’ streaming numbers.

In the new filing – which can be viewed here – Drake’s Frozen Moments LLC has accused UMG and Spotify of “illegally” aiding and boosting ‘Not Like Us’ streams in favour of Kendrick Lamar – who earlier this year entered a viral rap feud with Drake.According to the legal document, UMG is accused of offering Spotify compensation to recommend the song to Spotify subscribers: “On information and belief, UMG charged Spotify licensing rates 30 per cent lower than its usual licensing rates for ‘Not Like Us’ in exchange for Spotify affirmatively recommending the song to users who are searching for other unrelated songs and artists.” UMG has said the allegations in the court document are untrue.The dispute also targets UMG more, and only names Spotify in a few instances.It also alleges that Spotify and UMG did not disclose the compensation, which the document claims was made through “wires or mails”.