Drake has filed a second legal action against record label Universal Music over Kendrick Lamar’s hit Not Like Us, which was released at the height of the pair’s feud earlier this year.
The star has accused Universal of defamation, and his legal papers claim the company could have halted the release of a song “falsely accusing him of being a sex offender”.
Instead, his lawyers claim, Universal “executed a plan” to make the song “a viral mega-hit”, and used Lamar’s incendiary lyrics “to drive consumer hysteria and, of course, massive revenues”.
It comes a day after Drake filed papers in New York, accusing the company of illegally boosting the song’s profile on Spotify. Universal has called the claims “offensive and untrue”.
“We employ the highest ethical practices in our marketing and promotional campaigns,” the company said.
“No amount of contrived and absurd legal arguments… can mask the fact that fans choose to hear.”
It was filed in Texas and also involves the radio giant iHeartRadio, which operates more than 850 stations across the US.
According to Drake’s lawyers, Not Like Us was “heard more than 25 million times” by listeners to iHeart stations in the four months after its release.
Citing a whistleblower, they claim Universal potentially made “covert payments” to iHeart as part of a “pay-to-play scheme” to promote the song.
Drake’s lawyers admit that they have been “unable to confirm” whether the payments went to iHeart stations, but argue that “as the number one audio company in the country”, it was the most likely recipient.
If approved, the court action would compel the companies to provide any evidence regarding the accusations.
BBC
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