Drake's Legal Team Doubles Down on Streaming Fraud Claims After Spotify's Denial: 'Comply With This Basic Discovery Request'

In Drake's view, there is compelling evidence supporting his claims against Universal Music Group and Spotify.

He has explicitly alleged that there was collusion between the record label and the music streaming service to artificially inflate the play counts of Kendrick Lamar's track "Not Like Us."

According to Drake's lawyers, "UMG did not rely on chance, or even ordinary business practices. It instead launched a campaign to manipulate and saturate the streaming services and airwaves."

To clarify the situation, Drake's Frozen Moments LLC submitted a request to review the data from UMG and Spotify.

However, Spotify rejected the claims made by the artist and released a statement refuting the allegations. The company also asserted that their investigations did not uncover any evidence backing the artist's accusations of bot manipulation.

Drake immediately wasted no time in delivering his response. His legal representatives stressed their commitment to pursuing the information they seek until it is obtained.

At the outset, Drake raised concerns about someone employing bots to artificially inflate the number of streams for the song "Not Like Us" by 30 million.

Additionally, there were refutations from the platform regarding the claim that UMG offered a 30% discount on licensing fees to push Kendrick's diss track.

Upon receiving the news, Drake's legal team remained unfazed. Swiftly responding with an official statement, they confidently claimed their foresight into Spotify's expected defense strategy.

"It is not surprising that Spotify is trying to distance themselves," the lawyers said, via AllHipHop.

"From UMG's allegedly manipulative practices to artificially inflate streaming numbers on behalf of one of its other artists."

The primary objective reiterated by Drake's team is to secure access to streaming data. The rapper believes that both UMG and Spotify should be open to sharing this information, provided they are not at fault.

Their statement concluded, "If Spotify and UMG have nothing to hide, then they should be perfectly fine complying with this basic discovery request."

Critics have not held back in their criticism of Drake's choice to pursue legal action.

Despite the obstacles, the "One Dance" singer remains determined in pursuing his claims.

Tags

Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Spotify, Universal Music Group