Spotify Denies Drake’s Claims of Unauthorized Streaming Increases in Recent Filing

Spotify has responded to Drake’s claims of illegal streaming activity involving Kendrick Lamar’s diss track “Not Like Us,” denying any involvement in artificially inflating streams. In court documents reviewed by Pitchfork, Spotify described Drake’s accusations as legally insufficient and stated that they should be dismissed.

In a filing submitted to the New York Supreme Court, Spotify refuted Drake’s allegations that the streaming platform used bots to generate 30,000 streams of “Not Like Us” during the song’s initial release. Spotify also rejected claims that the company received undisclosed payments or provided biased recommendations to promote Lamar’s track.

According to Spotify, there has never been an agreement between Universal Music Group (UMG) and Spotify where UMG charged lower licensing rates for “Not Like Us” in exchange for Spotify promoting the song to users actively seeking other music. Spotify emphasized that they invest heavily in automated and manual reviews to detect and prevent artificial streaming activity on their platform.

David Kaefer, a Spotify employee, stated in an accompanying document that the company takes action against attempted stream manipulation, including removing fake streams, withholding royalties, and imposing penalty fees. This process helps protect honest artists and ensures fair royalty payouts.

Additionally, Spotify criticized the legal approach taken by Drake, referring to the pre-action petitions filed in New York and Texas as a “subversion of the normal judicial process.” Spotify’s legal team argued that Drake’s requests for pre-action discovery bypass standard pleading requirements and seek information that would typically only be obtained through a lawsuit.

In response to these developments, a Spotify spokesperson clarified that the company has no financial incentive to promote “Not Like Us” over any of Drake’s tracks. While UMG has not officially addressed the issue in court filings, a company spokesperson previously stated that the allegations made by Drake are unfounded and offensive, emphasizing UMG’s commitment to ethical marketing practices.

As the legal saga continues, Pitchfork has reached out to Drake’s representatives for comment. Stay tuned for updates on this ongoing dispute between Drake, Spotify, and UMG regarding streaming practices and promotional activities in the music industry.