The Toronto rapper previously filed pre-action petitions naming UMG and Spotify.
Drake is withdrawing his much-discussed legal action against UMG and Spotify. Or at least, he has formally made moves to do so with regards to one such petition, as reported by Billboard early Wednesday.
As detailed in court docs filed in Manhattan on Tuesday, per the outlet, reps for the Toronto rapper’s Frozen Moments, LLC said it had met with UMG and Spotify prior to making the withdrawal in question official.
Spotify reportedly did not object to the withdrawal, while UMG reserved its position on the matter. As for the second pre-action petition against UMG and iHeartMedia filed in Texas, its status had not changed as of this writing. A hearing on that matter is expected later this month.
In a previous filing, Spotify denied Drake’s allegations of artificially boosting the streaming numbers for Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” which included lyrics aimed at the For All the Dogs artist amid their extensive back-and-forth.
“Spotify has no economic incentive for users to stream ‘Not Like Us’ over any of Drake’s tracks. Only one of Spotify for Artists’ tools, Marquee, was purchased on behalf of the song, for €500 to promote the track in France. Marquee is a visual ad that is disclosed to users as a Sponsored Recommendation,” the company said, according to Variety.
UMG also issued a statement in which the company denied the accusations against it. “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,” a rep said.
Drake’s Frozen Moments LLC had accused UMG and Spotify of using bots and payola to inflate the popularity of Lamar’s Grammy-nominated diss track, “Not Like Us.” The claim carried a heavy accusation that UMG violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, which had been denied by the company.
Drake has not publicly commented on this latest development, nor is he expected to do so. In December, his legal team shared a statement with Complex in which they responded to Spotify’s own motion, saying it was “not surprising” that the streamer was “trying to distance themselves” from the allegations.
“If Spotify and UMG have nothing to hide then they should be perfectly fine complying with this basic discovery request,” reps said at the time.
Complex has reached out to Drake’s legal team for comment, as well as to reps for Spotify and UMG. This story may be updated.
As Shawn Setaro explained in a Complex piece last November, neither of Drake’s legal actions amounted to actual, full-blown lawsuits, despite repeated claims on social media falsely suggesting otherwise. Instead, both instances are examples of what are referred to as “pre-action” petitions. Put another way, these are filings which typically precede a lawsuit, though it’s not required for any party to move forward in that direction, as evidenced by the eventual withdrawal in the UMG and Spotify one.
More recently, Drake has continued to offer updates from the studio as fans await news on his and PND’s previously announced joint album. The project is expected soon, and at one point was described as being near completion as of late last year.
Kendrick, meanwhile, is slated to perform at next month’s Super Bowl in New Orleans, a headlining gig that came with its own controversy upon an initial announcement last September.
