Late last month, Drake decided to take legal action against Universal Music Group (UMG) over Kendrick Lamar's hit diss track "Not Like Us." In a pre-action petition, he accuses UMG and Spotify of using bots, payola, and more to artificially inflate the popularity of the song. He also accuses UMG of defamation, alleging that they could have prevented the release of the song in which Kendrick accuses him of being a sexual predator.
“UMG did not rely on chance, or even ordinary business practices,” the petition alleges. “It instead launched a campaign to manipulate and saturate the streaming services and airwaves.” Now, a hearing has been scheduled for December 20, according to Kurrco. It remains to be seen what exactly will play out in this case, but of course, social media users have their theories. There have been mixed reactions to Drake's petition since news of it hit the internet. Some think Drake has a chance of exposing alleged corruption in the music industry. Others think this just makes him look jealous of Kendrick's success.
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Hearing For Drake's Petition Against UMG & Spotify Scheduled For December 20
During a recent episode of his Apple Music show, for example, Ebro shared why he thinks Drake will end up taking a loss. "I've worked in the radio business and the media for 30 years," he said. "There's allegations of payola... I've been investigated, people I've worked with been investigated and nothing has ever come to fruition." Funkmaster Flex, on the other hand, thinks Drake is in the right.
"DRAKE IS 100% RIGHT!" he wrote in part on X. "NATIONAL PLAY! (PER SONG) DRAKE DONT $ FOR PLAY! POP / CHR RADIO: $350k URBAN RADIO: $250K MIXSHOW: $100K LOCAL MIXSHOW DIRECTOR: $40k LOCAL DJ: $3K-5K PER SONG! (DJS ON THE RADIO 5 DAYS A WEEK) THIS IS WHY INDEPENDENT ARTIST DONT RISE TO THE TOP! ALL YOU ARTIST KNOW I AINT NEVER TAKE A DIME FROM YOU, YOUR MANAGER OR YOUR LABELS!"
