Drake has dropped a legal lawsuit against Universal Music and Spotify in which he accused the two companies of conspiring to boost streams of Kendrick Lamar’s diss song “Not Like Us.”

canadian star Action was taken last Novemberaccused music companies of using bots, Payola and more to promote Lamar’s songs, accusing him of pedophilia.

“The record-breaking distribution of ‘Not Like Us’ in streaming, sales and radio programming was intentional and appears to have relied on irregular and inappropriate business practices,” the court filing said.

However, on Tuesday, Drake’s attorneys voluntarily withdrew the pre-suit filing, effectively ending the case.

The star met with representatives from Spotify and Universal Pictures on Tuesday to discuss the case, according to court documents filed in New York.

Spotify, which had objected, had no objection to the withdrawal and termination. Universal Pictures did not object and retained its position.

Related casesThe lawsuit against Universal Pictures and Texas-based broadcast network iHeartRadio remains active.

“Not Like Us” is widely considered to be the decisive blow in the long-running feud between Drake and Lamar, which dates back to the early 2010s.

In the lyrics, Lamar claims that Drake “likes them when they’re younger,” and accuses him of using other, more credible rappers to boost his image.

Drake responded about 24 hours later with a song titled “The Heart Part 6,” in which he denied the accusations, saying “I’ve never been with any minors.” He also claimed to have provided “false” information to Lamar through a double agent.

However, his rebuttal failed to attract the same attention as “Not Like Us,” which debuted at No. 1 on the US charts and attracted more than 1 billion streams on Spotify.

Drake went to court and accused Universal, which distributes both his music and Lamar’s music, of artificially boosting the song’s sales.

In court documents, he claims the label “licensed the song to Spotify at a significantly reduced price” and used bots to play the song, creating “a perception that the song was more popular than it actually was.” Wrong impression”.

The documents are not a lawsuit but a “pre-suit petition” in which Drake’s lawyers seek to obtain internal Spotify and Universal documents that could bolster their case.

In a statement at the time, Universal told the BBC: “The suggestion that (the company) would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue.

“We apply the highest ethics in our marketing and promotions. No amount of contrived and ridiculous legal arguments in this pre-litigation filing can obscure the fact that fans choose the music they want to hear.”

Spotify also responded by saying that “there is no financial incentive for users to play ‘Not Like Us’ on any of Drake’s tracks.”

The Swedish streaming company later filed an objection brief to Drake’s petition, saying it “should be denied.”

Music industry experts had been skeptical the charges would ever go to trial.

Some believe Drake is using the courts to get information from Universal that could allow him to sue for breach of contract and back out of the deal.

But entertainment industry attorney Kevin Cassini said the proposed legal action could do more harm than good to Drake’s reputation.

The media coverage “actually only served to draw more attention to lyrics that Drake found offensive or objectionable,” he told Rolling Stone.

“I think the streaming numbers for this song are going to go up again.”