Drake’s UMG Lawsuit Backfires as Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” Sees 440% Sales Surge and 20% Stream Increase

Drake’s recent lawsuit against Universal Music Group (UMG) has seemingly backfired in a big way, inadvertently boosting Kendrick Lamar’s streams.

The legal filings, which accused UMG of artificially boosting the popularity of Kendrick’s diss track “Not Like Us” through streaming bots and payola, have resulted in a massive 440% increase in the song’s sales and a 20% rise in streams. Since the filing on November 25th, the track has surged back up the charts on both Apple Music and Spotify, even making a significant jump on Spotify’s global chart.

This unexpected outcome has led industry experts to warn Drake that his legal battle might be doing more harm than good. While Drake claims that UMG defamed him by releasing a song that accuses him of being a pedophile, the lawsuit has only drawn more attention to the track. Music industry insiders have pointed out that this could be a case of the Streisand effect, where attempting to suppress something only amplifies it. Entertainment lawyer Kevin Casini even speculated that Drake’s filings will likely lead to even more streams for “Not Like Us.”

Despite the increasing attention on Kendrick’s track, Drake’s legal filings are technically “pre-action” petitions, meaning that he is seeking information before potentially filing a full lawsuit. As of now, it remains unclear what the next steps will be in this highly publicized legal battle. However, the surge in popularity of Kendrick Lamar’s songs and the backlash against Drake’s legal strategy highlights the unpredictable nature of the music industry’s legal and promotional battles.