Spotify Hits Back Against Drake’s Claim it Inflated Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’ Streams

Spotify addressed Drake’s allegations that it “artificially inflated” streaming numbers for Kendrick Lamar’s diss track “Not Like Us” in a statement Friday. Last month, the Canadian rapper accused Spotify and Universal Music Group, both his and Lamar’s label, of inflating streaming numbers for the hit song. He also accused UMG of defamation. “Spotify has no economic incentive for users to stream ‘Not Like Us’ over any of Drake’s tracks,” the streaming giant said in a statement. It added that Spotify paid €500 to promote the song in France, which was disclosed in the ad. After filing a petition accusing UMG of conspiring with Spotify to boost the song, he filed a petition claiming that UMG was aware that the song “falsely” labeled him as a pedophile. A UMG spokesperson then slammed the accusations, saying: “The suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue.” While Drake has not filed a lawsuit, his petitions are meant to elicit depositions from key executives to gather evidence for a future suit.