Spotify has formally responded to Drake’s claim that it inflated streaming numbers to benefit Kendrick Lamar’s monster diss track “Not Like Us.”
According to court docs filed in New York Supreme Court on Friday (December 20), the streaming giant refuted Drake’s allegations that it used bots to log 30,000 streams of the chart-topping single around its initial release. Furthermore, Spotify firmly denied it accepted undisclosed payments and biased recommendations in an effort to boost Lamar’s track.
“Contrary to the allegations in the Petition,” the filing reads, “UMG and Spotify have never had any arrangement in which UMG ‘charged Spotify licensing rates 30 percent lower than its usual licensing rates for ‘Not Like Us’ in exchange for Spotify affirmatively recommending [‘Not Like Us’].”
Spotify employee David Kaefer added that Spotify “invests heavily in automated and manual reviews to prevent, detect and mitigate the impact of artificial streaming on our platform.” He continued, “When we identify attempted stream manipulation, we take action that may include removing streaming numbers, withholding royalties and charging penalty fees. Confirmed and suspected artificial streams are also removed from our chart calculations. This helps us to protect royalty payouts for honest, hardworking artists.”
Spotify also slammed Drake’s legal route in the case, calling it a “subversion of the normal judicial process.” As the filing states, “What petitioner is seeking to do here is to bypass the normal pleading requirements … and obtain by way of pre-action discovery that which it would only be entitled to seek were it to survive a motion to dismiss.”
It’s important to note Drake is suing his own label, Universal Music Group, the parent company of Republic Records. In November, UMG issued a statement after Drake filed a second “pre-action” petition.
“The suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue,” it read. “We employ the highest ethical practices in our marketing and promotional campaigns. 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.”
Spotify assured the court there was no “economic incentive” to pull such a scheme. Drake’s legal team has yet to respond.
Drake filed his first complaint through his company Frozen Moments LLC on November 25, accusing UMG and Spotify of co-conspiring on “Not Like Us.” A UMG rep provided a response to Variety mere hours after the news broke, denying any validity to the claims made in the complain.
“The suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue,” the rep said. “We employ the highest ethical practices in our marketing and promotional campaigns. 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.”
“Not Like Us” proved to be the proverbial nail in the coffin in the Drake versus Kendrick Lamar feud. The track is nominated in multiple cateogries at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards, including Best Rap Song, Song of the Year and Record of the Year.