Canadian rapper Drake has had a change of heart and has withdrawn the legal action he took against Universal Music Group and Spotify in November 2024.
According to Music Business Worldwide, the “Thank Me Later” rapper filed new paperwork withdrawing the initial filing in a Manhattan courtroom Tuesday, Jan. 14. In the filing, Drake’s company Frozen Moments LLC said it would withdraw the action “without costs to any party.”
“Please take further notice that petitioner hereby voluntarily discontinues this special proceeding as to all respondents without costs to any party.”
On Nov. 25, 2024, Drake accused Universal Music Group and Spotify of working together to artificially inflate his rival, Kendrick Lamar’s hit diss record, “Not Like Us.” Drake accused UMG of launching an illegal “scheme” that used several factors to manipulate numbers, including bots, payola, and other methods to make Lamar’s song successful.
“UMG did not rely on chance or even ordinary business practices,” the original paperwork stated. “It instead launched a campaign to manipulate and saturate the streaming services and airwaves.
The record label has not responded to the latest action, but Spotify remarked that the accusations made by Drake were false and there was no collaboration with UMG to inflate the number of plays of the song. The streaming giant also took issue with the action Drake took and stated, “This subversion of the normal judicial process should be rejected.”
Drake’s attorneys said they had conferred with both UMG and Spotify and had “no objection” to this action being dismissed, but UMG “reserved its position” about whether it would challenge the move.