Spotify Fires Back At Drake: Calls 'Artificially Inflated Streams' Allegation Over Kendrick Lamar's Hit Unfounded
Spotify Fires Back At Drake: Calls 'Artificially Inflated Streams' Allegation Over Kendrick Lamar's Hit Unfounded
Drake's company Spotify Technology SA (NYSE:SPOT) has strongly denied allegations from Drake that it "artificially inflated" streaming numbers for rival artist Kendrick Lamar's track "Not Like Us."
Spotify科技公司（纽交所：SPOT）强烈否认了德雷克的指控，称其对竞争对手肯德里克·拉马尔的歌曲《Not Like Us》进行了“人为夸大”的播放数字。
What Happened: In opposition papers filed, Spotify stated it "has no economic incentive" to favor Lamar's track over Drake's music, reported Variety.
发生了什么：Spotify在提交的对立文件中表示，它“没有经济动力”来偏袒拉马尔的歌曲，选择德雷克的音乐，Variety报道。
"Marquee was purchased on behalf of the song, for €500 to promote the track in France. Marquee is a visual ad that is disclosed to users as a Sponsored Recommendation," stated a Spotify spokesperson.
Spotify的一位发言人表示：“Marquee是为这首歌购买的，花费500欧元在法国推广这首歌曲。Marquee是一种视觉广告，向用户披露为推荐广告。”
Drake's company Frozen Moments had previously filed a petition claiming that Spotify and Universal Music Group (OTC:UMGNF) artificially boosted Lamar's streaming numbers.
德雷克的公司Frozen Moments之前提交了一份请愿，声称Spotify和环球音乐集团（场外交易：UMGNF）人为提升了拉马尔的播放数字。
The petition alleged UMG offered Spotify a 30% discount on licensing rates in exchange for promoting "Not Like Us," a claim both companies deny.
请愿书声称，UMG向Spotify提供30%的许可费折扣，以换取推广《Not Like Us》，这一说法被两家公司都否认。
Earlier, Universal Music Group rejected the accusations as "offensive and untrue," underscoring their commitment to ethical marketing practices. A UMG spokesperson stated that fan choice, not manipulation, drives streaming numbers.
早些时候，环球音乐集团拒绝了这一指控，称其“冒犯且不真实”，强调他们对道德营销实践的承诺。一位UMG发言人表示，推动播放数字的是粉丝的选择，而不是操控。
Drake's legal team responded through a statement to Variety, challenging both companies to comply with discovery requests if they have "nothing to hide."
德雷克的法律团队通过一份声明回应Variety，挑战这两家公司，如果他们“没有什么好隐瞒的”，就应遵守发现请求。
Why It Matters: The dispute has expanded beyond streaming numbers, with Drake filing a separate action in Texas alleging defamation and improper radio promotion practices.
为什么这很重要：争议已经超出了播放数字，德雷克在德克萨斯州提起了另一项诉讼，指控诽谤和不当的广播推广行为。
Neither artist is directly signed to UMG, instead licensing their music through their own companies – Drake's OVO and Lamar's pgLang – to Universal labels for marketing and distribution.
两位艺术家都不是直接与UMG签约，而是通过他们自己的公司——德雷克的OVO和拉马尔的pgLang——将他们的音乐授权给环球公司的营销和发行。
Sources familiar with the matter suggest that Drake's petition primarily targets Universal — the label responsible for distributing his music since his 2009 debut with Lil Wayne's Young Money — rather than Spotify, iHeart, or Lamar himself, the report noted.
熟悉此事的消息来源指出，德雷克的申请主要针对环球——自2009年与小韦恩的Young Money首演以来负责发行他音乐的唱片公司——而不是Spotify、iHeart或拉马尔本人，报告指出。
However, the timing of the legal action, revolving around a song tied to the prolonged feud between the two artists, seems far from coincidental.
然而，这项法律行动的时机与两位艺术家之间长期争端相关的歌曲似乎远非巧合。
"Not Like Us" stands out as a diss track that not only climbed to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 but also secured multiple nominations for the 2025 Grammy Awards.
"Not Like Us"作为一首不和谐曲目脱颖而出，不仅登上了Billboard Hot 100的榜首，还获得了2025年格莱美奖的多个提名。
Price Action: Spotify's stock rose by 1.48% on Friday, closing at $460.88. Year-to-date, the company's shares have skyrocketed 144.11%, significantly outperforming the Nasdaq 100 index, which has gained 28.68% during the same timeframe, according to Benzinga Pro data.
价格走势：Spotify的股价在周五上涨了1.48%，收于460.88美元。今年迄今，该公司的股票飙升了144.11%，明显超过同期上涨28.68%的纳斯达克100指数，数据来源于Benzinga Pro。
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
免责声明：此内容部分由Benzinga Neuro生成，并由Benzinga编辑审核和发布。
Photo courtesy: Shutterstock
照片提供：shutterstock
译文内容由第三方软件翻译。
