Remember a month ago when Drake filed a petition against Universal Music Group (UMG) and Spotify, claiming that the two companies conspired to inflate the streams for Kendrick Lamar’s popular diss track, “Not Like Us?” Well…Spotify is not taking these claims lightly and is firing back in the process.
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In a Friday filing, the streaming giant responded to the 6 God’s petition, saying it found no proof that it used bots or agreed to a deal with UMG to illegally inflate the now-classic diss song, according to Billboard.
Spotify also criticized Drake for the way in which he brought his claims to court — not as a full-fledged lawsuit, but as an unusual “pre-action” petition aimed at demanding information. The company accused Drake of using that “extraordinary” procedure because his allegations are too flimsy to pass muster in an actual lawsuit and would have been quickly dismissed.
“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 lawyers write. “This subversion of the normal judicial process should be rejected.”
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When Drake took legal action against UMG and Spotify last month in two separate petitions, he was immediately criticized by Black Twitter, with some claiming that he’s out of touch with Black culture.
While Spotify took a while to respond to Drizzy’s claims, UMG did not. Shortly after news of the petition was released, the music company released a statement to Variety, saying, “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. 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.”
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Essentially, UMG told Drake that he lost the beef.