Drake Accuses UMG and Spotify of Conspiring to Artificially Inflate Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’ With Bots and Payola – Report
UPDATE (Nov. 25):
A spokesperson for Universal Music Group has released the following statement to XXL in response to Drake's accusations against the music company.
“The suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue," the statement reads. "We employ the highest ethical practices in our marketing and promotional campaigns. No amount of contrived and absurd legal arguments in this pre-action submission can mask the fact that fans choose the music they want to hear.”
ORIGINAL STORY (Nov. 25):
Drake is reportedly accusing Universal Music Group and Spotify of artificially inflating Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us" numbers by using bots and payola.
Drake Files Pre-Acton Petition in Court
On Monday (Nov. 25), Drake's company Future Moments, LLC filed a pre-action petition in New York Supreme Court, Billboard reports. The filing accuses UMG and Spotify of conspiring to boost the totals on K-Dot's chart-topping diss song "Not Like Us."
"UMG did not rely on chance, or even ordinary business practices," the filing reads. "It instead launched a campaign to manipulate and saturate the streaming services and airwaves."
Drake's legal team accuses UMG and Spotify of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, the NY Deceptive Business Act and the NY False Advertising Act. In addition, UMG is accused of using deceptive business practices and false advertising with bots and payola.
"UMG’s schemes … were motivated, at least in part, by the desire of executives at Interscope to maximize their own profits," Drake's attorneys insist. "Executives at Interscope have been incentivized to maximize the financial success of Interscope through the promotion of ‘Not Like Us’ and its revitalizing impact on the artist’s prior recording catalog."
The petitioner also accuses the X social media account NFR Podcast of taking money to promote the song and video without disclosing payment. The pre-action petition is a preemptive move to gather information and Drake has yet to file an official lawsuit.
"Not Like Us" was one of the biggest hip-hop songs in 2024 and broke multiple streaming records in route to topping the Billboard Hot 100 multiple times. Following the song's release, there was internet speculation that bots were being used to elevate Kendrick and spread negativity about The Boy.
Kendrick's hit single earned five Grammy Award nominations including Song of the Year, Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song, Record of the Year and Best Music Video.
Drake made a deal with UMG in 2022, which was reportedly worth $400 million. At the time, the deal with the music giant encompassed recordings, publishing, merchandise and visual media projects. Since then, the rapper seems to have an issue with UMG CEO Lucian Grainge. He name-dropped him on the track "Away From Home": "Who the CEO of Universal? They mistaken/’Cause Google sayin' Lucian, but that just doesn't make sense." The line hints at Drake calling himself the top dog at UMG. Drake dropped a massive amount of content, including songs, video footage and photos, he dubbed 100 Gigs this past summer, which was rumored to have upset UMG because he was releasing music to the public for free.
Drizzy still releases music through his own label OVO, which is under exclusive license to Republic Records, a division of UMG. Kendrick Lamar is also connected to UMG being that he's signed to its subsidiary Interscope Records.
XXL has reached out to Drake's team, Kendrick Lamar's team, Spotify and UMG for comment.
