Drake has dropped his legal action against Universal Music Group and Spotify, which claimed that the two companies worked together to artificially boost Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us.”
In Manhattan federal court on Tuesday, Drake voluntarily withdrew his pre-action filings against UMG and Spotify and discontinued all legal proceedings without financial penalties for any parties involved.
Drake, UMG, and Spotify have not commented on the rapper’s decision to cease legal action.
In his original filing against UMG, Drake accused the label of engaging in an illegal “scheme” that involved using bots to boost the popularity of “Not Like Us on Spotify and making “covert payments” to radio stations to increase the song’s airplay. Drake claimed to have had an “inside source” who informed him of UMG’s alleged scheme.
Originally released on May 4th as part of a series of back-and-forth diss tracks between Lamar and Drake, “Not Like Us” proceeded to hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, became the fastest rap song on Spotify to accumulate 700 million streams, and recently earned five Grammy nominations, including Record and Song of the Year.
Drake and Lamar both maintain active associations with UMG through its subsidiaries: Drake is signed to Republic Records, while Lamar distributes his music via Interscope. According to Drake’s attorneys, the alleged motivation behind the scheme to promote “Not Like Us” was partly driven by “the desire of executives at Interscope to maximize their own profits.”
A spokesperson for Universal Music Group previously denied Drake’s claims, saying in a statement: “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.”