Rapper RBX sues Spotify, accuses Drake of benefiting from fraudulent music streams
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Rapper RBX has sued Spotify, alleging that the Swedish audio company has failed to stop the artificial inflation of music streams for artists such as Drake and is hurting the revenue other rights holders receive through the platform.
RBX, whose real name is Eric Dwayne Collins, is seeking a class-action status and damages and restitution from Spotify. RBX and other rights holders receive payment based on how often their music is streamed on Spotify, according to the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in L.A. on Sunday.
Spotify pays rights holders a percentage of revenue based on the total streams attributed to them compared with total volume of streams for all songs, the lawsuit said.
The Long Beach-based rapper said that rights holders are losing money on Spotify because streams of some artists are being artificially inflated through bots powered by automated software, even though the use of such bots is prohibited on the platform, according to the lawsuit.
Universal Music Group reached a settlement with AI startup Udio, ending a legal battle in which UMG had accused Udio of taking copyrighted music to train its AI model.
For example, the lawsuit notes that over a four-day period in 2024, there were at least 250,000 streams of Drake’s “No Face” song that appeared to originate in Turkey but “were falsely geomapped through the coordinated use of [virtual private networks] to the United Kingdom in [an] attempt to obscure their origins.”
Spotify knew or should have known “with reasonable diligence, that fraudulent activities were occurring on its platform,” states the lawsuit, describing the streamer’s policies to root out fraud as “window dressing.”
Spotify declined to comment on the pending litigation but said it “in no way benefits from the industry-wide challenge of artificial streaming.”
“We heavily invest in always-improving, best-in-class systems to combat it and safeguard artist payouts with strong protections like removing fake streams, withholding royalties, and charging penalties,” Spotify said in a statement.
AI won’t replace your favorite artist. But it will render obsolete some working musicians and songwriters. A nervous industry steels itself for more upheaval.
Last year, a U.S. producer was accused of stealing $10 million from streaming services, and Spotify said it was able to limit the theft on its platform to $60,000, touting it as evidence that its systems are working.
The platform is also making efforts to push back against artificial-intelligence-generated music that is made without artists’ permission. In September, Spotify announced it had removed more than 75 million AI-generated “spammy” music tracks from its platform over the last 12 months.
A representative for Drake did not immediately return a request for comment.
RBX is known for his work on Dr. Dre’s 1992 album “The Chronic” and Snoop Dogg’s 1993 album “Doggystyle.” He has multiple solo albums and has collaborated with artists, including on Eminem’s “The Marshall Mathers LP” and Kris Kross’ “Da Bomb.” RBX is Snoop Dogg’s cousin.
AI continues to change the way that the entertainment industry operates, affecting everything from film and TV production to music. In the music industry, companies have sued AI startups, accusing the businesses of taking copyrighted music to train AI models.
At the same time, some music artists have embraced AI, using the technology to test bold ideas in music videos and in their songs.
Spotify on Thursday said it removed 75 million AI spammy tracks in the past 12 months, including deepfakes.
