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 millions of dollars were funneled to Nguyen via Stake’s tipping feature to pay for bot vendors, artificially inflating Drake’s Spotify plays. Plaintiffs LaShawnna Ridley and Tiffany Hines allege this manipulation misled royalty and recommendation engines, suppressed authentic artists, and distorted music charts. The lawsuit accuses the defendants of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and seeks financial damages. This follows a November lawsuit alleging Drake received “billions of fraudulent streams” and Drake’s own lawsuit against Universal Music Group alleging bot usage to boost Kendrick Lamar’s song, which was dismissed.
(Source：Billboard)