Jealous of the success of his piece or a real trick? Canadian rapper Drake and his lawyers said in a court filing Monday that Universal Music Group (UMG) falsely inflated the popularity on Spotify and other streaming services of Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” the title track. flagship of the clash between the two rappers, reports Associated Press.
According to Fronzen Moments LLC, the rapper’s company, UMG “launched a campaign to manipulate and saturate streaming services and airwaves with a song, Not Like Usin order to make this song viral, in particular by using “bots” and pay-per-listen agreements”.
The company and Spotify “have a long-standing symbiotic business relationship” and UMG reportedly offered special licensing rates to Spotify for the song in exchange for increased recommendations for the track, even when users searched for “songs and videos.” unrelated artists,” according to Drake’s lawyers.
A scheme put in place to “mislead consumers into believing that the song was more popular than it actually was,” according to the prosecution. However, if UMG is indeed Kendrick Lamar’s record label, it is also that of the Toronto rapper.
“The idea that UMG would do anything to harm any of its artists is offensive and false. We employ the highest ethical practices in our marketing and promotional campaigns,” defended the famous record company, which assured Variety that “fans choose the music they want to hear. »
VideoWhat are “Diss Tracks”, at the heart of the disagreement between Drake and Kendrick Lamar
“Not Like Us”, the very popular single by the Californian rapper, was released on May 4 following the release of several tracks in which the two rappers clash with each other. Considered the most influential track of their rivalry with more than 900 million plays on Spotify, “Not Like Us” accuses Drake of child abuse. “Say, Drake, I heard you like them young,” says Kendrick, which the main person obviously denied.
