Spotify addresses Drake’s allegations of “artificially inflating” streaming numbers for Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us”

Drake’s Allegations Against Spotify

Following Drake’s claims that Spotify “artificially inflated” the streaming numbers for Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” the streaming platform responded with an official statement.

Last month, Drake accused Spotify and his label Universal Music Group of inflating the number of tracks in which Lamar targeted the rapper as part of their ongoing feud. He also accused UMG, which also distributes Lamar’s music, of defamation.

Spotify’s Response and UMG’s Defense

As a result, Spotify filed opposition papers, with a spokesperson stating: “Spotify has no economic incentive for users to stream “Not Like Us” over any of Drake’s tracks. Just one of Spotify for Artists’ tools, Marquee, was purchased on behalf of the song for €500 to promote the track in France. Marquee is a visual advertisement that is presented to users as a sponsored recommendation.”

The opposition documents clarify: “Contrary to the allegations contained in the petition, UMG and Spotify never entered into any arrangement under which UMG ‘would have charged Spotify licensing fees 30 percent lower than its normal licensing rates for the song ‘Not Like Us’ in exchange for Spotify affirmatively recommending (‘Not Like Us’), including ‘to users looking for other songs and artists.’”

Meanwhile, a UMG spokesperson labeled the allegations “offensive and false,” adding: “We employ the highest ethical practices in our marketing and advertising campaigns. No amount of flimsy and absurd legal arguments in this preliminary statement will be able to disguise the fact that fans choose the music they want to hear.”

In a related development, Drake filed a defamation lawsuit in Texas a day later, asserting that UMG knew the song “falsely” accused him of pedophilia yet chose to distribute it nonetheless.

Rap legend Snoop Dogg also commented on the drama. In an appearance on The Bootleg Kev Podcast, he initially withheld his opinion but later remarked: “In the West we hold trials in the streets. That’s what we call it.”

Snoop mentioned he apologized to Lamar for sharing a snippet of Drake’s diss track “Taylor Made Freestyle” on social media, which was posted a couple of weeks prior to Lamar’s “Not Like Us.” He explained: “(Lamar’s) a rapper, he must express his opinion and tell the truth. I’m his big homebody, so I have to take what he says from his point of view because he’s telling the truth. I am ready to accept the truth when it is brought to me directly.”

After TV host and rapper Joe Budden criticized Drake’s actions against UMG last month, the “Hotline Bling” star’s father, Dennis Graham, cautioned him to “back the hell off.”

Interestingly, Lamar brought an unexpected conclusion to the feud by releasing a new album, “GNX,” on November 22.

In a glowing five-star review of the album, NME stated, “After a year full of harsh diss tracks and unfiltered hate, Lamar is channeling that energy into the purest of all emotions – love – carrying the West Coast on his back,” adding, “Lamar is channeling what could be interpreted as hate and negativity into a teaching moment that will lead you to the purest emotion known to man: love. In a year that started with such rancor, Kendrick Lamar shares the antidote to ‘GNX.’