UMG and Spotify used bots to make Kendrick Lamar's 'Not Like Us' popular, says Drake in latest lawsuit

Drake has escalated his ongoing feud with rapper Kendrick Lamar into the courtroom, accusing Universal Music Group (UMG) and Spotify of unfairly boosting Lamar’s chart-topping track “Not Like Us” through questionable promotional tactics. In a pre-action petition filed in New York’s Supreme Court on Monday, Drake’s legal team alleges that UMG employed bots and pay-to-play schemes to artificially inflate the song’s popularity.

The petition claims that UMG, which represents both Drake and Lamar, along with Spotify, orchestrated a campaign to saturate streaming platforms with Lamar’s song. The filing states: “In 2024, UMG did not rely on chance, or even ordinary business practices, to ‘break through the noise’ on Spotify… It instead launched a campaign to manipulate and saturate the streaming services and airwaves with a song, ‘Not Like Us.’”

Drake’s lawyers further allege that UMG offered Spotify licensing rates 30% lower than usual in exchange for prominent recommendations of “Not Like Us” on the platform. The filing argues that Spotify promoted the song to users searching for unrelated tracks and artists, a practice that Drake’s team says was not disclosed to listeners.

Universal Music Group has strongly denied the accusations. In a statement to The Verge, spokesperson James Murtagh-Hopkins called the claims “offensive and untrue” and defended the label’s marketing practices: “The suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue. We employ the highest ethical practices in our marketing and promotional campaigns. No amount of contrived and absurd legal arguments… can mask the fact that fans choose the music they want to hear.”

The allegations against UMG and Spotify touch on a broader concern in the music industry: the use of bots and other tools to inflate streaming numbers. Spotify’s website explicitly warns artists against generating “artificial streams,” which can skew performance metrics and earnings. While some independent artists have been caught using such tools, the involvement of a major label, as Drake alleges, could pose serious ethical and legal challenges for the industry.

The petition, filed by Drake’s firm Frozen Moments LLC, stops short of a full lawsuit. Instead, it seeks to compel UMG and Spotify to release documents and communications related to the promotion of “Not Like Us.” Billboard, which first reported the filing, noted that neither UMG, Spotify, nor Drake’s representatives responded to requests for comment.

Drake’s legal action comes amid heightened tensions between the two rap icons. Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” has been celebrated as one of the year’s standout hits, with critics praising its lyricism and production. However, Drake, who faced criticism for his own releases this year, appears unwilling to let his rival’s success go unchallenged.