Spotify is facing a federal class-action lawsuit, which resulted from streaming. The lawsuit was filled, alleging the company failed to prevent widespread fraudulent streaming. The plaintiffs claimed that the fraudulent streaming inflated play counts for Drake.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, names rapper RBX as the lead plaintiff. The complaint does not accuse Drake of any wrongdoing.
The filing alleges that between January 2022 and September 2025, a “substantial, non-trivial percentage” of Drake’s approximately 37 billion Spotify streams were inauthentic, originating from automated bots and fake accounts.
The core of the legal action revolves around the platform’s revenue distribution model. The lawsuit claims that the alleged stream fraud caused direct financial harm to legitimate artistes whose royalties are calculated based on the total pool of streams. The complaint states:
“Every month, under Spotify’s watchful eye, billions of fraudulent streams are generated from fake, illegitimate, and/or illegal methods, causing massive financial harm to legitimate artistes, songwriters, producers, and other rightsholders.” Plaintiffs are seeking over $5 million in damages, class certification, and a jury trial. Spotify has publicly stated that it has removed 75 million suspicious tracks previously and maintains that it employs effective anti-fraud measures. Representatives for both Spotify and Drake offered no immediate comment on the legal action.
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