Drake Withdraws Legal Petition Against Spotify and Universal Music Group Over Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’

Drake has officially withdrawn his legal petition against Spotify and Universal Music Group (UMG) after accusing them of orchestrating an illegal “scheme” to inflate the streaming numbers of his rival Kendrick Lamar’s diss track Not Like Us.

In a court filing on Tuesday, January 14, reviewed by Variety, Drake and his company, Frozen Moments, withdrew their request for pre-action disclosure and the preservation of documents from both entities. The filing explained that Drake met with representatives on the same day, and while Spotify, which had filed an opposition, had no objection to the withdrawal, UMG, which had not opposed, reserved its position.

The legal battle first erupted in November 2024 when Drake accused UMG, which distributes both his and Lamar’s music, of using bots and payola to artificially boost the numbers for Not Like Us, a track that accuses Drake of paedophilia and cultural appropriation.

Drake’s petition, which was a “pre-action” move rather than a full lawsuit, alleged that UMG engaged in practices designed to inflate the track’s popularity, including licensing it to Spotify at drastically reduced rates and using bots to create the false impression that it was more popular than it was.

At the time, UMG strongly denied the allegations. “The suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue,” the company stated, emphasizing their commitment to ethical marketing practices.

Spotify, in its opposition papers filed in late December, also rejected the claims. A spokesperson for the platform stated that they had no economic incentive to favor Not Like Us over Drake’s tracks, noting that only one Spotify for Artists tool, Marquee, was used to promote the song for €500 in France. The company further asserted that there was no arrangement with UMG to provide discounted licensing rates for the song.

Drake’s legal team responded, implying that Spotify was distancing itself from UMG’s allegedly manipulative practices, and suggested that both companies should comply with the discovery request if they had nothing to hide.

The dispute began after a series of diss tracks between Lamar and Drake, which intensified when Lamar dropped a verse on Future and Metro Boomin’s Like That in March 2024. Not Like Us quickly became the biggest hit in their ongoing war of words, fueling further tensions.