AceShowbiz - Rapper Eric Dwayne Collins, known as RBX, is taking legal action against Spotify by filing a class action lawsuit in federal court in California, AllHipHop reports. The suit accuses the streaming giant of allowing automated bots to artificially inflate the number of streams for Drake, potentially harming legitimate artists and rights holders.

Musicconnection also revealed that the lawsuit claims many of Drake’s streams on Spotify were generated through suspicious methods, including the use of VPNs to disguise the streams and originating from locations without residential addresses. The complaint highlights instances where some Spotify accounts streamed Drake’s music for nearly the entire day, with a small percentage of listeners accounting for a significant portion of his total streams. RBX argues that Spotify’s existing measures against bot streaming are largely ineffective and serve as superficial attempts that enable the platform to profit from inflated user metrics by selling more advertisements and reporting higher earnings.

Spotify has responded by emphasizing it does not benefit from artificial streams and invests heavily in systems to detect and remove fraudulent activity, per Musically. The company cited its removal of 75 million fake or spam tracks last year and referenced a prior legal case involving AI-generated music fraud, underscoring its ongoing efforts to protect artist payments. Spotify also stated it will vigorously contest the lawsuit filed by RBX, which targets only Spotify and does not name Drake or any other associated parties.

Drake is the Canadian rapper and actor best known for his 2009 hit single “Best I Ever Had” and his role as Jimmy Brooks on Degrassi: The Next Generation. He has received multiple 2024 BET Award nominations, including for Best Male Hip Hop Artist and Video of the Year.

This lawsuit draws renewed attention to the ongoing challenges streaming platforms face in policing fraudulent activity that can distort revenue distribution. If successful, RBX’s claims could prompt Spotify and other services to strengthen their safeguards against artificial streaming, which directly impacts the income of genuine artists and rights holders relying on fair royalty payments.

This article is based on reporting originally published by AllHipHop.