Kendrick Lamar, who released a surprise album on Friday, was also chosen to perform the halftime concert of the next Super Bowl, the final of the American football championship, in 2025, an immense privilege for an artist in the United States .
It is in this context that Drake, under contract with Universal, like Kendrick Lamar, launched two proceedings, respectively before a court in New York and one in Texas. These are not complaints but a first procedural step which serves to collect evidence for subsequent legal actions.
In the first, dated Monday, the Canadian accuses Universal Music Group (UMG) of having made Spotify pay lower broadcast rights on the condition that the streaming platform recommend “Not Like Us” massively to its subscribers. According to a court document, Drake also accuses UMG of having used bots (computer automation machines) to artificially inflate the number of plays of this song.
gullThe idea that UMG would do anything to harm any of its artists is shocking and false (…), fans choose the music they want to listen to.
“The idea that UMG would do anything to harm one of its artists is shocking and false (…), fans choose the music they want to listen to,” reacted a spokesperson for UMG requested by AFP.
In the second procedure, revealed Tuesday by the specialist site Billboard, Drake’s lawyers believe that UMG “could have refused to release or distribute the song (“Not Like Us”) or demand that the offensive remarks be edited and/or deleted “, but “she chose to do the opposite”.
