Kendrick Lamar‘s “Not Like Us” was undoubtedly one of the hottest songs of the summer….or was it? While the diss track towards Drake topped charts around the world, Drake believes that the song isn’t as big of a hit as the numbers make it out to be, accusing Universal Music Group (UMG) and Spotify of conspiracy to artificially inflate the popularity of the song (and thus influence its position on the charts).
Drake’s Frozen Moments LLC filed a motion on Monday, November 25, in Manhattan court, accuding UMG of partaking in a series of illegal activities involving bots, payola and other methods to boost “Not Like Us.” The motion also accuses UMG of paying radio stations to play and promote the song.
The motion alleges deceptive business practices and false advertising under New York state law as well as violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), the act targeting organized crime by prosecuting activities involving patterns of criminal enterprise. The motion is not yet a lawsuit, but rather a “pre-action” petition, which is the procedure by with information is gathered to determine if a lawsuit is warranted.
Drake’s motion also points out that this would not be the first time UMG has engaged in such practices. In 2006, UMG was forced to pay over $12 million to settle a payola case stemming from bribes made to radio stations to play their artists’ songs more than others.
Neither UMG nor Spotify have publicly commented as of Monday afternoon.
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