Former First Lady Michelle Obama said in 2016 that when haters “go low, we go high.” However, Drake decided that as Kendrick got diabolical, he would go tattle-tale. He took legal action against Spotify and UMG for allegedly boosting streams of K. Dot’s diss record “Not Like Us.” UMG has already released a statement about the “offensive and untrue” allegations from Drake, but now it is Spotify’s turn to let the choppa sing.
Spotify has had enough
The streaming platform officially submitted opposition papers on December 20 in Manhattan court. In their filing, they said they found no evidence supporting Champagne Papi’s claim.
“Contrary to the allegations in the Petition, 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 papers state.
Digging the knife in even deeper, they claim that Drake’s findings rely “exclusively on speculation… or the claims of anonymous individuals on the internet.”
Spotify’s VP of Music, David Kaefer, also delivered an affidavit along with Spotify’s filing, stating that “when we identify attempted stream manipulation, we take action that may include removing streaming numbers, withholding royalties and charging penalty fees…Confirmed and suspected artificial streams are also removed from our chart calculations. This helps us to protect royalty payouts for honest, hardworking artists.”
Drake doubles down
Drake’s attorneys have responded to the streaming platform’s newest moves in a statement to Variety.
“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. If Spotify and UMG have nothing to hide then they should be perfectly fine complying with this basic discovery request,” the spokesperson said.
This legal battle is just getting started. However, the damage is already done for Drake. Spotify has shown major love to the rapper in the past —but it’s truly doubtful they will ever “Get It Together.”