Spotify has fired back at Drake‘s claim that they conspired with Universal Music Group to turn Kendrick Lamar‘s “Not Like Us” into a mega hit.
In a bombshell legal filing last month, the 6 God accused UMG — the parent company of both his label Republic and Kendrick’s longtime home of Interscope — of using streaming bots to artificially boost the popularity of the chart-topping diss song, which accuses Drake of being a pedophile.
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The “pre-action” petition also alleged that UMG gave Spotify a 30 percent discount to license “Not Like Us” in exchange for the streaming service recommending the track to users “who are searching for other unrelated songs and artists.”
According to Billboard, Spotify filed a formal response in Manhattan court on Friday (December 20) in which it vehemently denied Drake’s claims, calling them “far-fetched” and questioning why Spotify — a “stranger” to the feud between Drake and Kendrick — is even involved.
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The company’s laywers claimed that there is zero evidence to support the rapper’s allegations of streaming bots or an illicit deal being struck between Spotify and UMG.
“The predicate of Petitioner’s entire request for discovery from Spotify is false,” the filing reads. “Spotify and UMG have never had any such arrangement.”
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It adds: “The Petition asserts no specific facts of any kind in support of these alleged RICO and deceptive practices violations. Instead, it relies exclusively on speculation … or the claims of anonymous individuals on the internet.”
The filing also criticized Drake for filing a pre-action petition instead of an actual lawsuit, claiming his allegations are too flimsy and would have been quickly dismissed in a lawsuit.
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“This subversion of the normal judicial process should be rejected,” the streaming giant argues.
UPDATE: Drake’s lawyers have responded to Spotify, saying in a statement to HipHopDX: “It is not surprising that Spotify is trying to distance themselves from UMG’s allegedly manipulative practices to artificially inflate streaming numbers on behalf of one of its other artists. If Spotify and UMG have nothing to hide then they should be perfectly fine complying with this basic discovery request.”
The original story continues below.
While UMG has yet to file a response in court, it initially issued a statement rubbishing Drake’s claims.
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“The suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue,” the company said. “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.”
Spotify’s response comes on the same day as a court hearing in Texas regarding Drake’s other petition against UMG and iHeartMedia.
In that filing, Drizzy said he had reason to believe that the music conglomerate had funneled payments to iHeartRadio stations across the country to play “Not Like Us.”
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He also accused UMG of defamation for knowingly releasing a song that contains harmful and slanderous statements about him.
The hearing is to determine whether Drake can depose individuals from UMG and iHeartMedia and obtain more information to support a potential future lawsuit.
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A court date in his dispute with UMG and Spotify is scheduled for January 16 in New York.
