After facing backlash from the hip hop community for taking legal action against UMG and Spotify over alleged inflation of numbers for Kendrick Lamar’s diss track “Not Like Us,” Drake ultimately withdrew his petition on January 14.
Following a meeting with the two companies in New York, the petition was officially withdrawn with no costs to any party. While the New York petition has been settled, the one filed in Texas remains active, leaving speculation about whether Drake’s legal team will address it in the future.
Drake’s decision to withdraw the petition has surprised many and let to speculation as to why.
Some social media users theorize that the rapper did not have as much evidence as he initially posed. Others, however, speculate that he did, and UMG and Spotify reached an agreement to save face. It has not been revealed what the true nature of the agreement was.
It is surprising to see the legal proceeding come to an end so quickly. Drake made it seem as though he was not willing to back down against UMG and Spotify as recently as December. Spotify issued a statement refuting all the claims the rapper made against them.
“The predicate of Petitioner’s entire request for discovery from Spotify is false,” the company stated. “Spotify and UMG have never had any such arrangement.”
Drake’s legal quickly responded. They made it clear that they predicted Spotify’s reaction and doubled down on their allegations. “It is not surprising that Spotify is trying to distance themselves from UMG’s allegedly manipulative practices,” they wrote. “If Spotify and UMG have nothing to hide then they should be perfectly fine complying with this basic discovery request.” Hopefully more details come to light.
