In a dramatic escalation of his ongoing feud with Kendrick Lamar, rapper Drake has accused Common Music Group (UMG) and Spotify of conspiring to artificially enhance the recognition of Lamar’s diss observe “Not Like Us.”

The claims are a part of a authorized “pre-action” petition filed by Drake’s Frozen Moments LLC on November 25 in a Manhattan courtroom, alleging racketeering, misleading enterprise practices, and false promoting.

In line with the submitting, UMG orchestrated a scheme involving bots, payola, and different strategies to inflate streaming numbers for “Not Like Us.” Drake’s attorneys declare the label manipulated algorithms on Spotify and misdirected customers to the observe, even once they looked for unrelated music. They additional allege that UMG slashed licensing charges for Spotify in alternate for platform promotions and paid influencers to amplify the track’s attain on social media.

One startling accusation suggests UMG colluded with Apple to have Siri redirect customers trying to find Drake’s “Licensed Lover Boy” album to Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” which features a lyric accusing Drake of misconduct. Whereas Apple will not be named as a respondent within the petition, the rapper’s legal professionals level to this as proof of UMG’s techniques to undermine his repute.

Drake’s authorized staff argues that UMG’s actions had been pushed by inner company dynamics, significantly the monetary incentives tied to divisions like Interscope Data, which homes Lamar’s initiatives. The petition claims Interscope executives sought to bolster their income by boosting Lamar’s single, which additionally revitalized his again catalog’s streaming efficiency.

Regardless of efforts to handle the difficulty privately, Drake alleges UMG refused to take duty for the alleged misconduct. He claims the corporate dismissed staff perceived as loyal to him and directed blame at Lamar, urging Drake to sue the artist fairly than the label.

UMG has denied the allegations, calling them “offensive and unfaithful.” A spokesperson for the corporate acknowledged that UMG adheres to the very best moral requirements in its advertising and marketing practices, emphasizing that followers, not fabricated schemes, decide music recognition. Spotify has declined to touch upon the matter.

Drake’s petition falls beneath New York’s “pre-action” process, designed to assemble proof earlier than submitting a proper lawsuit. Whereas Spotify is known as within the petition, the allegations primarily goal UMG, reflecting a big fallout between the rapper and the label the place he constructed his profession.

Each Drake and Lamar have long-standing ties to UMG, with Drake initially signing by way of Lil Wayne’s Younger Cash imprint and later with Republic Data, and Lamar first becoming a member of TDE, distributed by Interscope, earlier than establishing his pgLang label. The feud between the 2 artists, marked by diss tracks, now extends into the realm of enterprise litigation, including a brand new layer of pressure to the hip-hop panorama.

Because the authorized battle unfolds, it raises broader questions concerning the ethics of music promotion and the position of streaming platforms in shaping shopper preferences.