Following Drake’s claims that Spotify “artificially inflated” the streaming figures for Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’, the streaming platform has responded with an official statement.
Last month, Drake accused Spotify and his label, Universal Music Group, of inflating the numbers for the track, in which Lamar takes aim at the rapper as part of their ongoing feud. He also accused UMG – who distribute Lamar’s music too – of defamation.
As a result, Spotify has filed opposition papers, and a spokesperson said: “Spotify has no economic incentive for users to stream ‘Not Like Us’ over any of Drake’s tracks. Only one of Spotify for Artists’ tools, Marquee, was purchased on behalf of the song, for €500 to promote the track in France. Marquee is a visual ad that is disclosed to users as a Sponsored Recommendation.”
It states in the opposition papers: “Contrary to the allegations in the Petition, UMG and Spotify have never had any arrangement in which UMG ‘charged Spotify licensing rates 30 per cent lower than its usual licensing rates for ‘Not Like Us’ in exchange for Spotify affirmatively recommending [‘Not Like Us’],’ including ‘to users who are searching for other songs and artists.”
Meanwhile, a UMG spokesperson called the accusations “offensive and untrue,” adding: “We employ the highest ethical practices in our marketing and promotional campaigns. 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.”
The defamation action, meanwhile, was filed by Drake in Texas a day later, with the rapper claiming that UMG was aware the song “falsely” accused him of paedophilia but chose to distribute it nonetheless.
Recommended
Rap legend Snoop Dogg has also weighed in on the drama. In an appearance on The Bootleg Kev Podcast, he first declined to give his views on the matter, before simply saying: “On the West, we hold court in the streets. That’s just what we call it.”
[embedded content]
He said that he apologised to Lamar for sharing a snippet of Drake’s diss track ‘Taylor Made Freestyle’, which he dropped a couple of weeks before Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’, on social media, and explained: “[Lamar is] a rapper, he’s supposed to speak his mind and tell his truth. I’m his big homeboy, so I have to take what’s said from his perspective because he’s speaking truth. I’m willing to accept truth when it’s brought to me directly.”
And, after broadcaster and rapper Joe Budden criticised Drake’s actions against UMG last month, the ‘Hotling Bling’ star’s father, Dennis Graham, warned that he needed to “back the fuck off.”
Lamar, meanwhile, put the feud behind him by surprise releasing a new album, ‘GNX’, on November 22.
In a glowing five-star review of the album, NME wrote: “After a year full of scathing diss tracks and unfiltered loathing, Lamar converts that energy into the purest emotion of all – love – while carrying the West Coast on his back,” adding: “Lamar channels what could be interpreted as hate and negativity into a teachable moment, leading you to draw upon the purest emotion known to man: love. In a year that started with so much venom, Kendrick Lamar shares the antidote on ‘GNX’.”