Last month, Drake decided to go after Universal Music Group (UMG) and Spotify. In a pre-action petition, he accuses the companies of artificially boosting Kendrick Lamar‘s diss track “Not Like Us” using bots and payola. UMG was quick to deny these allegations, and last week, Spotify finally issued its response.
“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]’, including ‘to users who are searching for other songs and artists,'” the filing says in part. “Spotify has no economic incentive for users to stream ‘Not Like Us” over any of Drake’s tracks.”
DJ Akademiks Claims Drake Will Get “Washed” If He Goes Through With UMG Lawsuit
Drake’s team wasted no time firing back, confirming that the response had not deterred them. “It is not surprising that Spotify is trying to distance themselves from UMG’s allegedly manipulative practices to artificially inflate streaming numbers on behalf of one of its other artists,” they wrote. “If Spotify and UMG have nothing to hide then they should be perfectly fine complying with this basic discovery request.”
During a recent stream, DJ Akademiks shared his take on all of this, appearing somewhat shocked by how Drake’s team responded to Spotify. “Drake’s legal team is following up as if they’re really that serious,” he began. “I really, to my core and my heart, I don’t believe that Drake is serious with this lawsuit. I haven’t talked to him about it, he hasn’t said nothing to me about it. The reason why I’m saying it is because as much as I like Drake’s music, I think if Drake goes to war with UMG, he’s getting washed. I’m sorry, Drake is not bigger than the program.” Akademiks went on, explaining how he doesn’t think Drake will actually go through with the lawsuit. If he does, however, he thinks his career could take a serious hit.
About The Author
Caroline Fisher is a News Writer at HotNewHipHop from Chicago, Illinois. She started at HNHH this year, and has since spent her time writing about all that is newsworthy in the world of hip-hop. With a drive for hunting down the hottest stories, she enjoys documenting new developments in culture and entertainment. She also has an appreciation for hip-hop and seeks to cover the most important trends and shifts.
She has a Bachelor of Arts which she received at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Having graduated in 2022, she majored in English with a concentration in Media, Rhetoric and Cultural Studies.
Specializing all things music, pop culture and entertainment, some of her favorite musical artists include Snoop Dogg, OutKast, and Nicki Minaj. When she’s not writing about music she’s also a fan of attending shows, watching the latest movies, staying up-to-date with current events, photography, and poetry.
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