Drake withdraws his petition against Spotify and Universal Music Group after he accused them of launching an illegal "scheme" to boost sales of Kendrick Lamar's hit "Not Like Us" sales volume.

A document filed in New York on Tuesday was filed by typeDrake and his Freeze Hour company withdrew their order requiring pre-litigation disclosure and preservation of certain documents and communications between the two companies. Court documents explain that Drake met with representatives on Tuesday and that Spotify, which objected, had no objection to the withdrawal and suspension, while UMG, which did not object, retained its position.

Drake caused uproar in November 2024 when he first accused UMG (which also distributes his and Lamar's music) of using bots and Payola to milk sales of "Not Like Us," a song that accused Drake of pedophilia and cultural appropriation. The petition, which is not a full lawsuit but a "pre-litigation" move, claims that UMG "engaged in conduct designed to artificially inflate the popularity of "Not Like Us" ... including licensing the song to Spotify at a significantly reduced price and used 'bots' to create the false impression that the song was more popular than it actually was."

UMG shared a statement with type At the time, Drake was condemned for his accusations. "The suggestion that Universal Music Group will stop at nothing to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue," the statement read. "We employ the highest ethical practices in our marketing and promotions. In this pre-litigation filing , no amount of contrived, ridiculous legal arguments can hide the fact that fans choose the music they want to hear.”

Spotify filed objection papers in court in late December, taking their objections to court. "Spotify has no financial incentive to allow users to stream 'Not Like Us' on any of Drake's tracks," a spokesperson said. "Marquee, a tool from Spotify for Artists, was purchased on behalf of the song for a mere €500 to promote the song in France. Marquee is a visual advertisement exposed to users as a sponsored recommendation."

The streaming platform also claims that UMG and Spotify "never had any arrangement in which UMG charged Spotify a licensing fee 30% lower than its usual "Not Like Us" licensing fee in exchange for Spotify's affirmative recommendation ("Not Like Us" Us"),' including users searching for other songs and artists."

Drake's legal team responded to Spotify's filing in a statement shared with Spotify type: “It’s not surprising that Spotify is trying to distance itself from UMG’s alleged manipulation of artificially inflated streaming numbers on behalf of its other artists. If Spotify and UMG have nothing to hide, then they should be perfectly fine with meeting this basic discovery requirement "

All of this stems from a heated feud between Lamar and Drake, which started after Lamar dropped a verse on Future and Metro Boomin's "Like That" in March 2024. What follows is an epic battle between the two rappers, with the diss track set to be released on Instagram and streaming services over the next few months. It all came to a head in early May, when they simultaneously released songs aimed at each other, followed by Lamar's "Not Like Us." The song ended up becoming the biggest hit in the war of words and one of the most ubiquitous songs of the year.