Spotify Denies Drake’s Legal Claims Over Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us”

Spotify is pushing back against Drake’s legal filings, which accuse the platform of colluding with Universal Music Group (UMG) to artificially boost Kendrick Lamar’s song “Not Like Us.”

Drake initiated two pre-action petitions on November 25, targeting UMG in New York and Texas courts. His New York filing alleges that UMG and Spotify used bots and payola to inflate the performance of Kendrick’s track, which is widely viewed as a diss aimed at Drake. He claims this violated the RICO Act, New York Deceptive Business Act, and New York False Advertising Act.

In Texas, Drake’s petition accuses UMG and iHeartRadio of similar schemes, adding defamation to the list of allegations. Some fans have criticized Drake online, suggesting his actions stem from frustration over losing the rap battle with Kendrick.

On Friday (December 20), Spotify’s attorneys filed a response to Drake’s claims, calling them baseless.

“The predicate of Petitioner’s entire request for discovery from Spotify is false: there is no such agreement,” the filing states. “Petitioner offers only information-and-belief speculation rather than well-pled facts… The Petition does not demonstrate how those speculative allegations make out the elements of the civil RICO, deceptive business practices, and false advertising claims Petitioner seeks to assert.”

A Spotify spokesperson also addressed the claims directly in a statement to XXL:

“Spotify has no economic incentive for users to stream ‘Not Like Us’ over any of Drake’s tracks. Only one of Spotify for Artists’ tools, Marquee, was purchased on behalf of the song, for €500 to promote the track in France. Marquee is a visual ad that is disclosed to users as a Sponsored Recommendation.”

As legal proceedings unfold, the feud between Drake and Kendrick continues to ripple across the music industry.