Drake Accuses Universal of ‘Artificially Inflating’ Numbers for Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’; record company denies

Drake Accuses Universal of ‘Artificially Inflating’ Numbers for Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’; record company denies

One of the songs against Drake that Kendrick Lamar in 2024, ‘Not Like Us’ was the big hit of the fight – and was even nominated for a Grammy

Despite the songs that Drake and Kendrick Lamar were against each other and stopped being released, the controversy continues. Now, Drake and team filed a legal dispute against Universal Music Group (UMG) and Spotify for allegedly “artificially inflating” the streaming numbers of “Not Like Us,” said of Lamar which was the great success of the whole fight. The record company denied the story.

In the process, Frozen Moments LLCfrom Drakeaccuses the record company of offering compensation to the Spotify to recommend the song to subscribers of the music streaming service. “Based on information and belief, UMG charged licensing fees from the Spotify 30% lower than usual licensing fees for ‘Not Like Us‘ in exchange for Spotify affirmatively recommend the song to users looking for other unrelated songs and artists,” it says.

The legal action further alleges how Spotify and UMG they did not disclose the compensation, which the document states was made via “telephones or mail.” Furthermore, allegedly, the record company and Interscope Records “also conspired and paid currently unknown parties to use ‘bots’ to artificially inflate the spread of ‘Not Like Us‘ and deceive consumers into believing the song was more popular than it actually was.”

According to the process, Drake I would have tried to talk to UMG about the matter, but the company denied responsibility and instead suggested that the Canadian rapper “should initiate legal action” against Kendrick Lamar. Frozen Movements LLC further alleges that “the schemes of UMG to artificially inflate the popularity of ‘Not Like Us‘ were motivated, at least in part, by the desire of company executives to Interscope to maximize one’s own profits.”

In the legal action, Drake does not ask for compensation and payment, but the Canadian rapper wants the UMG disclose all “documents and communications sufficient to show the identities of all third parties UMGits agents or anyone working on behalf of UMG/Interscope paid (without public disclosure) to promote, publish or recommend the song, cover image or accompanying video, including but not limited to radio stations, influencers, music platforms and music publications, as well as the dates, methods and the amounts of these payments.”

Technically, this is not a complete process, but the petition was filed as a “pre-action,” which, under New York law, is a procedure filed to secure information before formal legal action. That is, the named parties will not necessarily be involved or targeted if formal action is later filed.

In a statement to Rolling Stone USAa representative of UMG denied the accusations: “The suggestion that the UMG would do anything to harm any of its artists is offensive and false. 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.”

Source: Rollingstone

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