Rapper RBX sues Spotify, accuses Drake of benefiting from fraudulent music streams

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Rapper RBX is suing Spotify, claiming the company hasn’t done enough to prevent fake streams from boosting artists like Drake. He argues this practice reduces the earnings of other musicians and rights holders on the platform.

Rapper RBX, whose legal name is Eric Dwayne Collins, is leading a potential class-action lawsuit against Spotify. The lawsuit, filed Sunday in Los Angeles, claims that RBX and other music rights holders are seeking financial compensation and a refund of past payments, arguing that Spotify’s payment system – which is based on the number of times their music is streamed – is unfair.

According to the lawsuit, Spotify pays music rights holders a share of its revenue based on how often their songs are streamed compared to all songs on the platform.

According to a lawsuit, the Long Beach rapper claims that Spotify rights holders are losing income because fake streams from automated software (bots) are boosting some artists’ numbers, despite Spotify’s rules against using such bots.

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Universal Music Group and AI startup Udio have resolved their legal dispute. UMG had sued Udio, claiming the company used copyrighted songs to develop its artificial intelligence technology.

The lawsuit highlights a specific instance in 2024 where over 250,000 streams of Drake’s song “No Face” seemed to come from Turkey. However, these streams were intentionally disguised as if they were coming from the United Kingdom using VPNs, likely to hide their true origin.

According to the lawsuit, Spotify was aware, or should have been aware, of fraudulent activity happening on its service. The suit claims Spotify’s efforts to prevent fraud were merely superficial and didn’t address the real problem.

Spotify didn’t offer a statement about the lawsuit, but stated they don’t profit from the problem of fake streams across the music industry.

Spotify says it’s constantly updating its systems to fight fraudulent activity and ensure artists are paid correctly. This includes removing fake streams, holding back royalties when necessary, and issuing penalties to those who violate the rules.

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A representative for Drake did not immediately return a request for comment.

RBX is a well-known music producer and rapper who contributed to iconic albums like Dr. Dre’s “The Chronic” and Snoop Dogg’s “Doggystyle” in the early 1990s. He’s also released his own solo work and collaborated with major artists such as Eminem and Kris Kross. Notably, RBX is Snoop Dogg’s cousin.

Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the entertainment world, impacting areas like movie, television, and music production. Recently, music companies have filed lawsuits against AI startups, claiming they used copyrighted songs to develop their AI technology.

Meanwhile, many musicians are exploring AI, using it to experiment with creative concepts in both their music and visual projects like music videos.

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Spotify announced it has taken down 75 million fake tracks created using AI over the last year, including tracks that used deepfake technology.

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2025-11-05 04:01