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Drake Files Petition, Claims Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us" Downloads Are Fake
112 Plays2 months ago
Drake has gone full Karen and I don't know if his team is responsible for this frivolous petition or if he's' the mastermind behind a lawsuit against Universal Music Group, Spotify and Apple. Why would Drake do this? We had moved on from "Not Like Us" and the rap beef but here we are, at the end of 2024, streaming "Not Like Us" to get back at Drake?! I think Drake is cracking.
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Transcript
Balancing Podcasting and Personal Life
00:00:00
Speaker
Hello everyone. Well, a lot of people podcast and they do nothing else. I've said this quite a few times. I'm not one of those people. So I have been especially busy and when I come home, I know I should podcast, but I have to kind of decompress. I was watching House of Villains. I adore that show and
00:00:25
Speaker
It's just hard for me to do a hundred things in one day as a one-woman show. So unfortunately, I cannot say everything that I want to say about the topics that I will mention today. This has to be very quick because I have a lot to do.
Future of Podcasting Focus
00:00:43
Speaker
But instead of skipping the episode altogether, I thought, or skipping
00:00:49
Speaker
you know coming out with an episode today all together I was like let me just be super quick let me give a little abbreviated two cents on these topics I apologize but what I can say is I think by
00:01:07
Speaker
the middle of the second quarter of next year. Podcasting will be my only occupation, at least for a while, which means that I will have the time to be able to be timely and deep dive, just like so many other podcast hosts.
00:01:29
Speaker
have the time to do. So that being said, let's get into
Drake vs. UMG and Spotify: Allegations of Manipulation
00:01:34
Speaker
it. Drake has sued Universal Music Group and Spotify. He says that the two companies conspired to artificially inflate the popularity of Kendrick's Not Like Us.
00:01:50
Speaker
So in a filing in Manhattan court, Drake's Frozen Moments LLC accused you and Universal Music Group of launching an illegal scheme involving bots, payola, and other methods to boost Kendrick's song.
00:02:11
Speaker
Drake's attorneys said Universal Music Group did not rely on chance or even ordinary business practices. It instead launched a campaign to manipulate and saturate the streaming services and airwaves.
Legal Strategies and UMG's Defense
00:02:26
Speaker
Drake's attorneys are accusing UMG of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, the federal RICO statute, often used in criminal cases against organized crime, as well as alleging deceptive business practices and false advertising under New York state law. The filing is not a full lawsuit. It is a so-called pre-action petition.
00:02:53
Speaker
This procedure under New York law aims to secure information before filing a lawsuit. So Universal Music Group responded to the lawsuit against them and Spotify in a statement that they released to Variety magazine
00:03:11
Speaker
Universal Music Group said, 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. They also say that no amount of contrived or absurd legal arguments in this pre-action submission can mask the fact that fans chose the music they want to hear.
Accusations Against UMG and Apple
00:03:42
Speaker
So Drake's team is arguing that UMG appears to have used similar tactics with other streaming services on information and belief that UMG paid or approved payments to Apple to have its voice activated assistant Siri purposely misdirect users to not like us.
00:04:09
Speaker
They say that UMG Drake's team says that UMG did not rely on chance or even ordinary business practices. It instead launched a campaign to manipulate and saturate the streaming services and airwaves." I guess Not Like Us is back in the top 20 after this story about this pre-action petition.
Perceptions of Drake's Legal Move
00:04:36
Speaker
was filed, so I'm not gonna drag Drake over the coals, rake him, drag Drake. I'm not gonna rake Drake over the coals like everybody else. He has a right to file a petition, he has a right to sue. We also have a right to talk shit because of said lawsuit, because of said petition. This is a horrible look for Drake.
00:05:06
Speaker
Like Kendrick has already been winning. Kendrick is about to do the Super Bowl. Why draw attention to Kendrick? Not Like Us is a catchy song that could have been about anything. We all would have been dancing to it. We all would have been playing it. Sorry. I would take that out, but like I said, I'm super impressed for time. Not Like Us could have been a song about
00:05:35
Speaker
quilting blankets and we would have been shaking our titties and booties to this song. It is so sonically satisfying. It is so addictive.
Debating Kendrick's Song Popularity
00:05:50
Speaker
So yeah, a song as catchy as Not Like Us is gonna perform well. I didn't give a shit about what Kendrick was saying about Drake in the song. The song is a very catchy, addictive song.
00:06:05
Speaker
Drake has been in the game practically his whole life as far as entertainment with Degrassi and the music. He understands like he should understand that a lot of songs that some of us may think are questionable, those songs will rise to the top and be popular. So this was not like, it's a catchy song. It has nothing to do with Drake. When people were listening to this song, we didn't, we were not thinking about Drake.
00:06:36
Speaker
We were like, okay, you know, let me throw it back. Let me shake my ass. Let me, you know, use my knees. Let me pull a Megan. Let me just do whatever I want to do to show that I'm feeling this song.
Questioning Kendrick's Personal Image
00:06:51
Speaker
Let me dance. Let me bounce. Like a Drake was not on my mind because I don't believe that Drake is a pedophile. Like I believe that people like to throw shit out. I think that sensationalism.
00:07:03
Speaker
And like Kendrick, I don't know. I just, I have my suspicions about Kendrick. I hear that he has, he is always cheating with white women, but yet he tries to like exalt himself as some like Afrocentric king. Like he's not perfect either. So, you know,
00:07:24
Speaker
I just, this is a bad move for Drake.
Critique of Drake's Legal Approach
00:07:27
Speaker
Drake's fan base is really strong, really tight. This is not gonna hurt his career in any capacity, but why draw attention to this song that we know Kendrick is about to perform at the Super Bowl, more than likely? Like, look at how Kendrick had that fucking concert. Like, you saw how everybody was into Not Like Us.
00:07:51
Speaker
him playing Not Like Us forever at his Amazon show. It was Amazon, right? Why the fuck did you think the song was not popular enough to garner all the streams that it garnered legally? Who is advising Drake? Are they all on Pete Cocaine? What's going on?
00:08:14
Speaker
So that's all I gotta say about that. Drake has a right to sue. I think people need to relax. It is one of those stories, though, that's so, so ripe for headlines, so ripe for like the comments sections to pop off. But personally, I don't give a shit about Drake doing this petition or suing. Let him act. Let him be a child and act however he wants to act. We need to relax.
00:08:41
Speaker
Sometimes I think that us consumers of pop culture, we just kind of
00:08:48
Speaker
get so upset. Like, why did he do it? How did how come he did that? Let him do it. He can relax. He's still more wealthy, more successful, more talented than like everybody chiming in. Relax. It's a bad look. But he wanted to do this or he was advised to do this. So, you know, let's move on from this.
00:09:13
Speaker
petition slash lawsuit just like he should have moved on from Kendrick's song performing so well. Anyways, so next I will move on to other news in a different episode.