Drake, a renowned artist aged 38, took a significant step in the ongoing feud by filing a pre-action petition in a Manhattan court on Monday. This petition was directed against Universal Music Group (UMG) and Spotify. The claim made by Drake was that UMG and Spotify had concocted a "scheme" to boost the success of Kendrick Lamar's diss track "Not Like Us." In the court documents obtained by The Post, Drake's Frozen Moments LLC alleged that UMG, which distributes the music of both rappers, used "bots" to "artificially inflate" the streams of Lamar's song. This, according to Drake, deceived consumers into believing that Lamar's track was more popular than it actually was.

UMG's Alleged Actions

UMG was not only accused of using bots but also of paying influencers to promote Lamar's song on social media. Additionally, it was alleged that UMG paid Apple to have its Siri feature "purposely misdirect users" to Lamar's song. However, it's important to note that Apple is not named in the petition. Drake's attorney emphasized in the filing that UMG did not rely on chance or ordinary business practices. Instead, it launched a campaign to manipulate and saturate the streaming services and airwaves. UMG, in response, stated through a spokesperson that the suggestion of undermining its artists is offensive and untrue. They claimed to employ the highest ethical practices in their marketing and promotional campaigns.