Popular rapper Drake accuses Apple of taking money for illegally promoting his songs
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Popular musician Drake has filed legal action against record company Universal Music Group (UMG) and music streaming service Spotify for allegedly inflating the popularity of songs that were created to slam him. Drake also claims that Apple paid him to mislead users through Siri.
Drake Says UMG and Spotify Schemed to Boost Kendrick's 'Not Like Us'
https://www.billboard.com/pro/drake-umg-spotify-schemed-boost-kendrick-not-like-us/
Drake Claims UMG, Spotify 'Inflated' Kendrick Lamar's Numbers
In a Nov. 25, 2024 court filing, Frozen Moments, a company owned by Drake, accused UMG of 'engaging in an illegal scheme to make Kendrick Lamar's songs popular through bots, bribery, and other means.'
The song in question is 'Not Like Us,' released by Lamar in May 2024. The song, which contains lyrics suggesting that Drake is a sexual predator, is considered a so-called 'diss track.'
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Drake's side alleges that UMG violated the Racketeer and Corrupt Organizations Act by licensing the song to Spotify at a significantly discounted price in order to artificially inflate the song's popularity and by using bots to spread the false impression that the song was more popular than it actually was. Spotify is also accused of conspiring with UMG .
And while Apple has not been sued for any wrongdoing, Drake claims that Apple received money from UMG.
'UMG has information that it has paid or agreed to pay Apple to have Apple's voice assistant, Siri, intentionally direct users to 'Not Like Us',' Drake's side wrote in court documents. 'Online sources allege that when users asked Siri to play Drake's album 'Certified Loverboy,' Siri instead played 'Not Like Us,' which contains the lyric 'certified pedophile,' an allegation made against Drake.'
The current lawsuit is not yet official, but is a so-called 'pre-action petition,' a legal procedure under New York state law aimed at gathering evidence before a lawsuit is filed.
In response to the reports about this matter, UMG released a statement saying, 'Any allegations that UMG has engaged in defamatory conduct towards our artists are disturbing and unfounded. We employ the highest standards of ethical practices in our marketing and promotional campaigns. No matter how contrived and unreasonable the legal arguments advanced in these pre-litigation filings, they cannot obscure the fact that our fans choose the music they want to listen to.'
Universal Music has responded to Drake's claim that it conspired to 'artificially inflate' the streaming numbers of Kendrick Lamar's Drake diss, 'Not Like Us':
— Variety (@Variety) November 26, 2024
'The suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue. We employ the… pic.twitter.com/yD3n2rNQWf
Music industry media outlet Billboard has reached out to Spotify and Apple for comment but had not received a response at the time of writing.
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