Did UMG tell Drake to sue Kendrick Lamar? Drizzy's allegations against music corporation's refusal to take responsibility explored

According to a report by The Guardian dated November 26, 2024, Drake has filed a petition against Spotify and Universal Music Group (UMG). In the lawsuit, Drizzy claimed that the companies plotted to artificially inflate interest in his opponent Kendrick Lamar's diss track Not Like Us.

The petition filed by the rapper's Frozen Moments LLC on November 25, 2024, claims that Drizzy repeatedly tried to engage with UMG to discuss the harm he has suffered because of the music company's actions. However, the music company did not take any responsibility "for its misconduct" and "pointed the finger" at Kendrick Lamar directing the rapper to sue Lamar instead of UMG.

Additionally, the rapper's petition also alleged that Universal Music Group told him that they would sue Kendrick Lamar if Drake proceeded with his lawsuit.

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Drake's petition against UMG claims they conspired with and paid unknown parties to use bots to boost Not Like Us: Details explored

In the petition filed on November 25, 2024, Drake alleged that UMG reduced its licensing rates for Spotify in return for the streaming platform recommending Kendrick Lamar's track to its users. The petition claimed that UMG's exchange wth Spotify entaild the streaming platform recommending Lamar's Not Like Us even when users searched for unrelated artists or tracks.

Another claim mentions that UMG paid Apple to make Siri deliberately misdirect users who asked to listen to Drizzy's tracks and instead make them stream Not Like Us. The petition claims that this scheme by UMG led to Kendrick Lamar's diss track on Drake being streamed 900 million times, leading it to become the most-streamed diss tracks in Spotify history.

The One Dance rapper's lawyers allege:

“UMG … conspired with and paid currently unknown parties to use ‘bots’ to artificially inflate the spread of ‘Not Like Us’ and deceive consumers into believing the song was more popular than it was in reality,”

Additionally, the rapper's petition mentioned that UMG paid influencers to promote Lamar's track on social media along with setting up pay-to-play agreement with radio stations.

Drizzy's attorneys claim that Universal Music Group's schemes were motivated, at least to some extent by the desire of the executives at Intescope to maximize their profits, given Lamar is signed by the label. Since Interscope is owned by UMG, the success of Not Like Us eventually profited the music company.

Commentign on the petition, a spokesperson for UMG told The Guardian:

“The suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue. We employ the highest ethical practices in our marketing and promotional campaigns."

The spokesperson continued:

"No amount of contrived and absurd legal arguments in this pre-action submission can mask the fact that fans choose the music they want to hear.”

Spotify hasn't commented on Drake's petition against the streaming platform yet.

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The Guardian's report on the petition states that Kendrick Lamar and Drizzy have been associated with UMG for a long span of their careers, wherein Lamar was associated via Interscope and Drizzy via Republic Records.

Additionally, the legal filing by Drake is not a lawsuit yet; it is called a "pre-action" petition. As per procedures of New York law, a pre-action petition aims to secure important information before the lawsuit is filed. The parties mentioned in these petitions don't need to be a part of the final lawsuit.