In an surprising plot twist, Drake has filed court docket paperwork accusing music conglomerate Common Music Group and streaming service Spotify of conspiring to artificially inflate Kendrick Lamar‘s “Not Like Us” numbers via bots and payola. Drake’s firm, Future Moments, LLC, filed a pre-action petition in New York Supreme Courtroom on Monday (Nov. 25), which accuses UMG of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, the NY Misleading Enterprise Act and the NY False Promoting Act.
In 2022, Drake signed a cope with UMG reportedly value $400 million. On the time, the cope with the label encompassed recordings, publishing, merchandise and visible media tasks. Nevertheless, the connection has appeared to have hit some tough patches with Drake calling out CEO Lucian Grainge on a number of events on wax together with the For the Canines tune “Away From Dwelling” final yr. Drake nonetheless releases music by way of his personal label OVO, which is beneath unique license to Republic Data, a division of UMG. Kendrick Lamar can also be linked to UMG being that he is signed to its subsidiary Interscope Data.
This is a breakdown of Drake’s potential lawsuit towards UMG and Spotify.
The Allegations:
- The pre-action petition claims Spotify “launched a marketing campaign to govern and saturate the streaming companies and airwaves” with “Not Like Us” as a way to make sure the tune went viral via bots, pay-to-play agreements and false promoting.
- UMG charged Spotify a 30 % decrease licensing fee in alternate for Spotify recommending the tune to customers who’re looking for unrelated content material. Neither firm disclosed this licensing settlement.
- UMG, by way of Interscope, paid third events to make use of software program applications (bots) to inflate “Not Like Us” and trick customers into believing the tune was extra widespread than it really was.
- An unknown particular person revealed on a DJ Akademiks livestream that Kendrick’s “label” paid him $2,500 by way of a 3rd social gathering to assist jumpstart the tune’s marketing campaign with bots. This particular person claims they had been provided one other $2,500 and a proportion of the tune’s gross sales.
- UMG employed third events to inflate the numbers of the “Not Like Us” music video with bots.
- UMG paid Apple Inc. to have Siri purposely misdirect customers to “Not Like Us” after they requested the digital assistant to tug up Drake’s Licensed Lover Boy album.
- UMG engaged in payola with unbiased radio promotors who forwarded the funds to radio stations and radio staff to play “Not Like Us.”
- UMG paid the NFR Podcast, a preferred X account and YouTube account, to advertise the one with out disclosing cost.
- In an unprecedented transfer, UMG eliminated the “Not Like Us” copyright restrictions on YouTube and Twitch as a way to incentivize influencers to unfold the tune.
- UMG’s scheme was motivated “by the need of executives at Interscope to maximise their very own income.”
- UMG terminated staff who had an affiliation and loyalty to Drake.
- UMG refused to interact in negotiations after Drake notified them of the financial hurt the tune was having on his picture and as a substitute advised he take authorized motion towards Kendrick Lamar. The label threatened to take authorized motion towards Kendrick Lamar if Drake sued them.
- Drake believes he has a trigger for a civil RICO case due to alleged “predicate acts of wire fraud, mail fraud, and/or bribery for UMG’s funds to unknown third events within the type of decreased licensing charges to Spotify.”
This can be a pre-action petition, which is filed as a way to collect info for a possible lawsuit. Drake’s firm has but to formally sue the music firms.
A spokesperson for Common Music Group has launched the next assertion to XXL in response to Drake’s accusations: “The suggestion that UMG would do something to undermine any of its artists is offensive and unfaithful,” the assertion reads. “We make use of the very best moral practices in our advertising and marketing and promotional campaigns. No quantity of contrived and absurd authorized arguments on this pre-action submission can masks the truth that followers select the music they need to hear.”
A spokesperson for Spotify declined to touch upon the allegations. XXL has reached out to Kendrick Lamar’s staff and Drake’s staff for remark.