Drake has officially withdrawn his legal case against Universal Music Group (UMG) and Spotify, putting an end to a legal saga that accused the music giants of manipulating streaming numbers to boost Kendrick Lamar’s song Not Like Us.
According to Billboard, the Canadian rapper and his company, Frozen Moments, filed paperwork in a New York court on Tuesday, January 14, to end the petition. This petition sought information from UMG and Spotify in preparation for a potential lawsuit.
The court filing indicated that representatives for Drake met with UMG and Spotify on the same day to discuss the matter. Spotify, which had previously opposed the petition, expressed no objection to the withdrawal. UMG, however, reserved its position but did not file a formal response.
The document noted that the withdrawal was made without any costs to either party, and no specific reason was provided for the decision.
This development comes after Drake accused UMG last November of artificially inflating Kendrick Lamar’s streaming numbers through bots and payola schemes.
The alleged manipulation reportedly helped Not Like Us dominate the charts, sparking the pre-action petition. However, UMG dismissed the claims, defending their marketing practices as ethical and accusing Drake of making baseless accusations.
Spotify also denied any wrongdoing, maintaining that they had no illicit agreements with UMG to promote Lamar’s song.
While Drake’s petition in New York is now closed, a similar case against UMG and iHeartMedia remains active in Texas. That case involves allegations of payola and bot use related to the same song.
A court hearing for the Texas case is scheduled for January 28 unless the parties reach a settlement or the case is withdrawn.