Today (November 25) Drake reportedly filed a groundbreaking lawsuit against UMG (Universal Music Group). In the suit, Drake accused UMG of colluding with his foe Kendrick Lamar during their song-for-song rap battle.
To be specific, Drake’s lawsuit claimed UMG paid streaming platform Spotify to “employed bots and payola schemes to inflate the numbers” of Kendrick Lamar’s chart-topping diss “Not Like Us.” Now, UMG is clapping back. According to Variety, a representative for the label giant provided a statement to the outlet slamming the accusation.
“The suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue,” said the rep. “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.”
However, Drake’s initial compliment suggested that paying streaming platforms is a common practice at UMG. “UMG appears to have used similar tactics with other streaming services,” read Drake’s lawsuit. “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. It instead launched a campaign to manipulate and saturate the streaming services and airwaves.”
Spotify has not released a public statement regarding the accusations.