Drake Accused of Funding Fake Spotify Streams in Latest Gambling Lawsuit
Drake is accused in a new lawsuit of using funds from his Stake casino partnership to inflate his Spotify stream counts with bots.Summary
A new class action lawsuit alleges Drake used his partnership with online casino Stake to fund artificial stream-boosting campaigns on Spotify. The complaint, filed against Drake, Stake, streamer Adin Ross, and George Nguyen, claims Drake funneled millions of dollars through Stake’s “tipping” feature to Nguyen, who then paid for bot vendors to inflate streams of Drake’s music. Plaintiffs LaShawnna Ridley and Tiffany Hines allege this manipulation misled royalty and recommendation engines, distorted charts, and suppressed authentic artists.
The lawsuit accuses the defendants of operating a criminal enterprise under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). This comes after a November lawsuit alleging Drake received “billions of fraudulent streams” on Spotify, and Drake’s own lawsuit against Universal Music Group alleging they used bots to boost Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us.”
Representatives for Drake declined to comment, and Stake did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Contact information for Ross and Nguyen could not be located. The plaintiffs are seeking financial damages and an injunction.
(Source：Billboard)