The 17-page petition claims UMG, via its subsidiary Interscope, employed bots and pay-to-play tactics to ensure the song went viral after its release on May 4, 2024. Frozen Moments also alleges UMG gave Spotify a 30% discount on licensing rates in exchange for promoting Not Like Us to users searching for unrelated music.
Further accusations include Interscope allegedly paying a podcaster $2,500 through third parties to use bots, pushing the track to 30 million Spotify streams within days. The song later reached a record-breaking 300 million streams in just over a month. Additionally, the petition claims UMG employees bribed radio stations to play the track without disclosing compensation, a violation of the Communications Act of 1934.
Drake's attorneys argue these actions benefited UMG executives financially while harming other artists like Drake. They also allege UMG tried to conceal its misconduct by firing employees loyal to Drake. Despite Drake's efforts to discuss the matter with UMG, the label allegedly directed him to address his concerns with Lamar.
Frozen Moments is seeking pre-action discovery to identify specific defendants for a potential lawsuit, citing violations such as wire fraud, mail fraud, bribery, and deceptive practices. However, they require additional information from UMG and Spotify before proceeding.
UMG denies the allegations, calling them "offensive and untrue," and emphasizes its commitment to ethical practices. Meanwhile, Not Like Us has achieved 900 million Spotify streams, becoming the platform's most-streamed diss track and setting records for weekly streams.
Spotify has yet to comment.
