Back in May West Coast rapper Kendrick Lamar definitively ended the rap beef between him and Candian rapper Drake after dropping the summer anthem, "Not Like Us [click here if you missed that].
Now Drake is accusing Spotify and Universal Music Group of boosting Kendrick's popularity using bots...
From Billboard
Drake has initiated legal action against Universal Music Group and Spotify over allegations that the two companies conspired to artificially inflate the popularity of Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us.”
In a filing Monday (Nov. 25) in Manhattan court, Drake’s Frozen Moments LLC accused UMG of launching an illegal “scheme” involving bots, payola and other methods to pump up Lamar’s song — a track that savagely attacked Drake amid an ongoing feud between the two stars.
“UMG did not rely on chance, or even ordinary business practices,” attorneys for Drake’s company write. “It instead launched a campaign to manipulate and saturate the streaming services and airwaves.”
Drake’s attorneys accuse UMG of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, the federal “RICO” statute often used in criminal cases against organized crime. They also allege deceptive business practices and false advertising under New York state law.
The court filings are a remarkable twist in the high-profile beef between the two stars, which saw Drake and Kendrick exchange stinging diss tracks over a period of months earlier this year. That such a dispute would spill into business litigation seemed almost unthinkable in the world of hip-hop.
It also represents a stunning rift between Drake and UMG, where the star has spent his entire career, first through signing a deal with Lil Wayne’s Young Money imprint, which was distributed by Republic Records, and then signing directly to Republic.
Lamar, meanwhile, has also spent his entire career associated with UMG, first through the TDE imprint, which was distributed by Interscope, and more recently through his own company pgLang, which he licenses through Interscope.
In technical terms, Monday’s filing is not yet a full lawsuit, but a so-called “pre-action” petition — a procedure under New York law that aims to secure information before filing a lawsuit. Spotify declined to comment. UMG did not immediately return a request for comment.
29 comments:
😳 Whoa this is getting SERIOUS… I believe the accusations are TRUE but Drake is only doing this because he IS JEALOUS of Kendrick Lamar. Two things can be true at the same time.
Not a Drake fan but I believe he's right about this. I was going over some stats earlier & I don't believe Kendrick has sold as many albums that has been said. It's kinda complicated if you factor in downloads, etc.
So Drake suing his OWN label for boosting Kendrick over him but her NOT suing Kendrick for defamation for calling him a pedo?!
This Karen really called the cops over hip hop beef? Imagine Jay Z suing Nas over Ether lol
Sorry to be the one to tell you Drake but I streamed Not Like Us a million times all by myself 😂
He may be opening Pandora's box. Kendrick isnt the only artist with inflated streams....👀👀👀👀👀
Don't they all use bots? This ain't nothing new.
straight colonizer behavior
I still randomly be saying Wop Wop Wop Wop Wop dot fukem up - i do not be saying Keke do you love me
Funny pic
6:57 🤣🤣🤣 right! That song bop…I’m bout to listen to it now.
They get lots of attention for nothing.
6:10 🤣🤣🤣 yes, he is definitely being a Karen.
I still have Not Like Us in rotation. My kids are over it, but I don’t careeee!
Drake must aint watch the pop out when the whole stadium sang the song five times ðŸ˜
Colonizer turned Karen I'm calling the cops Canadian
Drake wasn't complaining when the bots were used to raise his own numbers tho. Funny thing is that this stunt right here is going to be the real death nell on his career. NLU started it, but suing UMG is gonna end it. UMG is the big dogs and I know he don't want the smoke.
I don't do Spotify like that, but Lord knows I watched the Not Like US video on YT like 50 times.
F’ck Pandora’s Box! Open that b’tch!!
Is Kendrick suing Drake for saying he beats his woman???
My people perish for a lack of knowledge. Some of you guys obviously don't understand business or how dirty streaming and the music execs are despite India Arie telling you about the pennies she was getting via that peculiar system. Some get pennies while others get a 100 million, it's crooked.Black folks don't know real finance and think everything is all about emotion, but Drake is half Jewish and knows all about the tricks of the trade and isn't having it. This is about a possible alledged criminal act of artificial inflation of one artist and the artificial devaluation of another which may be highly illegal .So Drake's team likely researched and gathered information over the months as well as had insiders giving information to solidify his claim. Best believe the music executives are going to settle out of court to prevent you guys from learning about how artificial the industry is. Lol. We need to end it and go back to cassettes. Lol. Payola has always corrupted the industry. Best believe if he is suing, he already has what they believe
Is proof because court is about what you can prove. Drake is a machine who makes a lot of business people money and they aren't going to let their investment take a loss. Watch and see they settle. Drake doesn't give a hoot what we think, this is business. I don't like his music or any modern rap but I see his point.
One more thing, as for Drake suing KDot, it depends on what the lyrics said. If he blatantly made a statement accusing Drake of X, Y, Z and it financially hurt Drake's reputation and earnings, then Drake may win, but if he didn't pose the lyrics as fact, KDot may win. So it depends on how KDot stated his lyrics. It's best never to say anything that can get you sued and to pose it as a question, not a statement. KDot may be able to counter sue if Drake spoke as fact without confirmation as well. This will be an interesting case.
How sad that the system that benefitted him is now pushing someone else. He wasn't complaining when "Hotline Bling", one of his many substandard songs, got the same treatment. He must have fallen out with Lucien Grange behind the scenes or perceived that he favored Kendrick to pull this move. He is no longer the UMG star player. LOL.
Hotline Bling sucked imo. Hope this brings the dirt to the light because we need more real talent back in the game.
Truth be told, all modern rappers that are pushed by execs today sound awful. I don't like any of the new music. Rap has been dead for more than a decade now. Drake and KDot both suck when put up next to DMX, Chub Rock, DOC, Salt n Pepa and on and on. In the past, Drake and Kdot would've been laughed out of the building because they are not even better than the worst 80s and 90s artists. That being said, if there are fiscal shenanigans going on with streaming it needs to be rectified by providing an actual list of paid subscriptions and certified downloads. This is new terrain for the courts and so Drake's case may set a precedent for corporate behavior if he wins, but if he loses, it's business as usual. I'm just curious to see if bots really do play a part in tricking the public.
Hilarious photo. 😅😅😂😂🤣🤣
👀👀
Drake is milking this for all he can and there's no shame in his game. He's really pathetic.
Kendrick is one of the few well-known hip hop artists that uses the imagery of real people in his videos and I appreciate that. They aren't airbrushed to death with BBLs and weave to their ankles. I love his videos and I love that he uses people that look like me and his actual fans.
Aubrey thinks he's too big to fail. Anybody who thinks like that will have a terrible ego death. Aubrey is so fragile. I know he wants to be hugged from the back.
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