Drake decided to further embarrass himself last month by taking legal action against Universal Music Group (UMG) and Spotify, accusing his label and the streaming platform of being in cahoots to artificially inflate streaming numbers for Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us." He swiftly also named UMG in another legal action for defamation, similarly accusing the label of paying off iHeartRadio to promote the song, which "falsely" calls him a predator.
As Billboard reports, Spotify has now responded to the filing, calling Drake's claims "false," and saying that his "legally deficient" petitions "should be denied."
"Contrary to the allegations in the Petition, UMG and Spotify have never had any arrangement in which UMG 'charged Spotify licensing rates 30 percent lower than its usual licensing rates for "Not Like Us" in exchange for Spotify affirmatively recommending it, including 'to users who are searching for other songs and artists,'" the filing issued in New York Supreme court today reads.
In addition to refuting Drake's claims, the streaming service also criticized his decision to file the complaints (one petitioned in New York, the other in Texas) as pre-actions instead of actual lawsuits. "What petitioner is seeking to do here is to bypass the normal pleading requirements … and obtain by way of pre-action discovery that which it would only be entitled to seek were it to survive a motion to dismiss," Spotify's legal team wrote, further referring to the move as a "subversion of the normal judicial process."
An accompanying document by Spotify employee David Kaefer states that the company "invests heavily in automated and manual reviews to prevent, detect, and mitigate the impact of artificial streaming on our platform," allegedly taking action — which "may include removing streaming numbers, withholding royalties and charging penalty fees" — when attempted stream manipulation is identified. However, just yesterday (December 19), a new report by journalist Liz Pelly claimed that Spotify is working with companies who make stock music, padding out playlists with "ghost artists" to minimize royalty costs.
"Spotify has no economic incentive for users to stream 'Not Like Us' over any of Drake's tracks," a spokesperson for the streaming platform added in a statement to Pitchfork.
UMG has yet to respond formally with a filing of its own, but a spokesperson for the label denied Drake's allegations after the second egal action was filed last month. "The suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue," they wrote. "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."