Spotify is facing a new class-action lawsuit that accuses the music giant of ignoring “mass-scale fraudulent streaming” that allegedly inflated Drake’s numbers by billions of fake plays.
Filed Sunday in California District Court, the suit names rapper RBX, Snoop Dogg’s cousin, as the lead plaintiff. The filing claims Spotify allowed “fake, illegitimate, and/or illegal” streams from bots, causing “massive financial harm” to other artists.
Drake isn’t named as a defendant, and there’s no direct accusation of his involvement.
The complaint alleges that between January 2022 and September 2025, “a substantial percentage” of Drake’s 37 billion streams were “inauthentic.” It cites “abnormal VPN usage” and “bot accounts” that streamed his music 23 hours a day, with some sessions originating in areas with “zero residential addresses.”
According to the suit, less than 2% of accounts forged about 15% of Drake’s streams.
Spotify denied wrongdoing, saying it “in no way benefits” from artificial streaming and invests heavily in fraud prevention. A spokesperson pointed to Spotify’s system that removes fake streams and penalizes offenders, adding that “our systems are working.”
Attorney Mark Pifko, representing RBX, said the case aims to “recoup losses for affected musicians” and make the streaming industry “fair and transparent.”
The lawsuit seeks over $5 million in damages.
The filing comes just weeks after a judge dismissed Drake’s separate suit accusing Universal Music Group of similar manipulation. While streaming fraud has plagued the industry for years, experts estimate that fake plays cost artists billions of dollars annually.