Drake Drops Lawsuit Against Universal Music, Spotify

Canadian Rapper, Drake has voluntarily withdrawn his lawsuit against Universal Music and Spotify, in which he alleged that the companies conspired to artificially boost the streams of Kendrick Lamar’s diss track, “Not Like Us.”

Drake had filed a pre-action petition in November, claiming that Universal Music and Spotify used bots, payola, and other methods to promote Lamar’s song, which accused Drake of pedophilia.

“The record-shattering spread of ‘Not Like Us’ on streaming, sales, and radio play was deliberate and appears to have relied upon irregular and inappropriate business practices,” Drake’s lawyers alleged in court documents.

However, in a surprise move, Drake’s lawyers withdrew the petition on Tuesday, effectively ending the case. According to court documents, Drake met with representatives of Spotify and Universal on Tuesday to discuss the case.

Spotify, which had filed an opposition, stated that it had “no objection to the withdrawal and discontinuance.” Universal, which hadn’t filed an opposition, reserved its position.

A related case, filed against Universal and radio network iHeartRadio in Texas, is still active.

The feud between Drake and Lamar dates back to the early 2010s, with “Not Like Us” being widely regarded as the decisive blow. In the lyrics, Lamar alleges that Drake “likes ’em young” and accuses him of using other rappers to boost his profile.

Drake responded with a track called “The Heart Part 6,” where he rejected the allegations, saying, “I never been with no one under age.”

However, his retort failed to attract the same attention as “Not Like Us,” which debuted at number one in the US chart and attracted over 1 billion streams on Spotify.

Drake had accused Universal of artificially boosting the song’s numbers, claiming that the label licensed the song “at drastically reduced rates to Spotify” and used bots to stream the song, generating “the false impression that the song was more popular than it was in reality.”

Universal responded, saying, “The suggestion that we would do anything to undermine any of our artists is offensive and untrue. We employ the highest ethical practices in our marketing and promotional campaigns.”

Spotify also stated that there was “no economic incentive for users to stream ‘Not Like Us’ over any of Drake’s tracks.”

Entertainment lawyer Kevin Casini had suggested that Drake’s lawsuit could do more harm to his reputation than good, saying, “The media coverage really only serves to bring more attention to the lyrics that Drake finds offensive or objectionable.”