On Tuesday, Drake’s legal team withdrew a legal petition accusing Universal Music Group (UMG) and Spotify of artificially inflating the popularity of Kendrick Lamar’s explosive diss track “Not Like Us.”
Filed in a Manhattan court in November, the petition alleged that the record company and the streaming giant used a network of bots, in conjunction with a so-called pay-to-play scheme, to “manipulate and saturate the streaming services and airwaves” with “Not Like Us.”
A searing diss track , “Not Like Us” reached number one on the Billboard charts last spring and broke several streaming records on Spotify. The song and its meteoric success was widely considered a knockout punch in the months-long rap feud between Drake and Lamar.
Drake and his Frozen Moments company withdrew its legal action yesterday, according to a notice issued by a New York court. According to the document, which was reviewed by the Star: “Petitioner hereby voluntarily discontinues this special proceeding as to all Respondents without costs to any party.”
The notice also notes that Drake’s representatives “met and conferred” with the respondents to the legal action in January. Spotify, which filed an opposition to the petition, responded that it had no objection to the withdrawal. Meanwhile, UMG, which had not filed an opposition to the petition, “reserved its position.”
Known as a preaction submission, Drake’s original legal action was not technically a lawsuit, but a petition for documents in preparation for a potential lawsuit filing.
UMG, a multinational music company, is the distributor for the record labels of both Drake and Lamar. In 2022, Drake signed a multi-faceted deal with UMG that was reported to be worth as much as $400 million, making it one of the largest recording contracts ever.
In December, UMG called Drake’s legal action “offensive and untrue.” In a statement provided to the Star, a spokesperson for the record company wrote: We employ the highest ethical practices in our marketing and promotional campaigns. No amount of contrived and absurd legal arguments in this preaction submission can mask the fact that fans choose the music they want to hear.”
Drake launched a second legal action against UMG in November, accusing the record label of defamation and claiming it could have halted the release of a song “falsely accusing him of being a sex offender.” That petition remains active.
The Toronto rapper has been relatively quiet in the fallout of his headlines-dominating feud with Lamar. He hasn’t released an official single since May, but did share a surprise freestyle, titled “Irish Fighting,” in early January. On Monday, Drake and his son Aubrey showed up at Scotiabank Arena to watch the Raptors take on the Warriors.
Lamar, meanwhile, is in the midst of a historic mid-career resurgence. Following the success of “Not Like Us,” he’s been announced as the Super Bowl halftime performer, released an acclaimed new album, titled “GNX,” and announced a massive world tour with SZA, which includes two shows at Rogers Centre this spring.
