Drake’s streaming figures questioned in Spotify class action lawsuit over alleged fake plays

A new class action lawsuit against Spotify cites unusually high streaming figures for Drake as a key example, though he is not accused of misconduct.

A new class action lawsuit has raised questions around the legitimacy of some of the most-streamed music on Spotify, placing Drake’s streaming figures at the centre of the discussion.

A lawsuit against Spotify by rapper RBX cites Drake's play count as an example of alleged bot-driven streams.(Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

The suit, filed in a California District Court, names Spotify as the sole defendant. Drake is not accused of wrongdoing, but the filing claims the platform allegedly allowed “mass-scale fraudulent streaming” to occur, benefiting his catalog, among others.

What does the new fake-streaming class action lawsuit claim

The lead plaintiff is rapper RBX (Eric Dwayne Collins), known for his contributions to the West Coast rap scene and his association with Snoop Dogg. Collins argues that Spotify has “turned a blind eye” to bot-driven streams that inflate play counts, per Rolling Stone.

According to the complaint, these artificial streams distort the platform’s “streamshare” royalty model, where the total earnings pool is split proportionally by play volume. The suit claims this results in legitimate artists losing out, as inflated high-end streaming numbers reduce the share available to others lower in the pool.

Spotify has rejected the premise. A spokesperson stated that the company “in no way benefits” from artificial streaming and invests heavily in detection systems, citing past cases where fake streams were removed and royalties withheld. The company maintains that fraudulent streaming is an industry-wide issue and not unique to its platform, Forbes reported.

Drake’s number cited in the fake-streaming class action lawsuit

The lawsuit says the most striking example of suspected stream manipulation involves Drake’s listening data between January 2022 and September 2025. The filing claims that a “substantial” portion of his roughly 37 billion streams may have been generated by bot accounts disguised through VPN routing.

One cited instance alleges that hundreds of thousands of streams for his track No Face appeared to originate from regions with little to no residential population, with locations masked to appear as the UK, Rolling Stones reported.

How streaming royalties are affected for other artists

Streaming fraud itself is not new. Analysts and music executives have estimated that as much as 10% of global streams may be artificial, as per Financial Times. Typically, smaller artists or fraud rings are blamed. But the lawsuit argues the scale here suggests broader patterns within the commercial music ecosystem.

This case arrives amid a period of multiple legal disputes involving Drake, including a separate claim last year in which he alleged his own music had been affected by inflated streaming tactics during his public feud with Kendrick Lamar.

FAQs

Who filed the lawsuit against Spotify?

A1. Rapper RBX (Eric Dwayne Collins) filed the class action complaint.

Is Drake accused of fraudulent streaming?

No, Drake is not named as a defendant; his streaming data is cited as an example in the suit.

What is the main issue raised in the lawsuit?

The suit claims artificial streams inflated play counts and distorted royalty payouts on Spotify.

How has Spotify responded?

Spotify said it does not benefit from artificial streaming and has systems to detect and remove fake streams.