Earlier today, we learned that Drake has dropped a legal case against Universal Music Group and Spotify, accusing the businesses of conspiring to “artificially inflate” Kendrick Lamar’s diss single Not Like Us.
According to a legal document obtained by MBW today (January 15), Drake has filed a full-fledged defamation lawsuit against Universal Music Group.
In the case, Drake accuses UMG of spreading a “false and malicious narrative” about him through the lyrics, single artwork, and music video for Not Like Us.
He further says that the recording’s publication and marketing have resulted in a “physical threat to Drake’s safety” as well as “a bombardment of online harassment,” and as a result, he “fears for the safety and security of himself, his family, and his friends.”
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The complaint, filed in a New York court Monday, states that “this lawsuit is not about the artist who created Not Like Us.” It is instead totally about UMG, the music company that chose to publish, promote, exploit, and monetize claims that it knew were not only false but also hazardous.”
The original petition, filed in November 2024 but withdrawn this week, alleges that UMG “launched a campaign to manipulate and saturate the streaming services and airwaves with a song, Not Like Us, in order to make that song go viral, including by using ‘bots’ and pay-to-play agreements.” You can read the full petition here.
The petition additionally stated: “UMG charged Spotify licensing rates 30 percent lower than its usual licensing rates for Not Like Us in exchange for Spotify affirmatively recommending the Song to users who are searching for other unrelated songs and artists.”
It continued by claiming: “UMG nor Spotify disclosed that Spotify had received compensation of any kind in exchange for recommending the Song.”
Last month, in response to Drake’s allegations about receiving a 30% discount in exchange for recommendations, a Spotify spokeswoman told MBW: “Spotify has no economic incentive for users to stream Not Like Us over any of Drake’s tracks.”
In November, a spokeswoman for UMG told MBW, “The suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and false.” Our marketing and promotional campaigns follow the highest ethical standards.
“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.”
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Drake and Lamar release their records through UMG, Republic Records, and Interscope, respectively.
Lamar’s Not Like Us (Interscope) was released on May 4 as part of a nasty rap battle with Drake, as part of a sequence of three diss tracks released within a few days of each other (the other tracks being Euphoria and Meet The Grahams).
The song peaked at No.1 on the Hot 100, becoming Lamar’s fourth US No.1 and second that year, following Like That by Future, Metro Boomin, and Kendrick Lamar, which peaked in April. Mustard, the producer of Not Like Us, achieved his first US No.1 with the track.Music Business Worldwide
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