Drake’s legal team is standing firm in their demand for evidence that Spotify and Universal Music Group (UMG) conspired against the artist.
The rapper previously filed a complaint accusing the streaming service and his label of participating in an illegal scheme that lowered licensing fees and unfairly promoted Kendrick Lamar’s song “Not Like Us” amid a summer of diss tracks.
Spotify’s legal team has denied the allegations, stating that claims of collaboration with UMG to manipulate streaming numbers for Lamar’s track are false. They called the request for data “far-fetched” and “speculative,” asserting that no such arrangement between the companies existed.
In response, Drake’s legal team at Willkie Farr & Gallagher issued a statement on December 20, criticizing Spotify for attempting to distance itself from UMG’s alleged practices. They argued that if the companies had nothing to hide, they should have no issue complying with the discovery request.
Spotify’s lawyers described Drake’s effort to gather evidence before formally filing a lawsuit as an attempt to bypass normal legal procedures, calling it a “subversion” of the judicial process.
UMG responded to Drake’s initial filing by rejecting any suggestion of unethical practices, insisting that they uphold the highest standards in their marketing and promotional efforts. They added that fans, not manipulation, determine what music gets played. However, UMG was named again in a second filing, this time alongside iHeartRadio, in a defamation suit. Drake claims his label was aware that Lamar had made controversial comments about him and his OVO crew, and that iHeartRadio accepted payments to promote Lamar’s track.
