Spotify Streaming Fraud Lawsuit That Claimed Drake Gets Billions of Fake Plays Dismissed by Judge
A US federal judge has permanently dismissed rapper RBX’s class-action lawsuit accusing Spotify of failing to stop fake streams that allegedly boosted Drake and other popular artists. The ruling means the case cannot be brought again, and the judge found RBX had not plausibly shown that Spotify broke the law or selectively enforced its anti-bot policies.
RBX, whose name is Eric Collins, argued that fraudulent plays diverted royalties from legitimate streams in a system where revenue is shared from a finite pool. The judge said Spotify owed him no special duty to protect him from bots and found no basis for his claims under California’s Unfair Competition Law. Drake was cited in the lawsuit but was not a defendant; Spotify has said it invests in systems to detect and penalise fake streams.
In short
- A judge permanently dismissed RBX’s lawsuit against Spotify.
- The case alleged fake streams diverted royalties from legitimate artists.
- Drake was mentioned but was not a defendant.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Spotify’s position is that allegations of widespread fake plays do not by themselves establish that it broke the law or treated artists unfairly, and the judge found the claims insufficiently supported. The company can also argue that detecting and penalising artificial streams is a complex platform responsibility, not a special legal duty to protect each artist from every instance of fraud.
The case against
RBX’s strongest argument is that, when royalties are divided from a finite pool, fake streams can reduce the share earned by legitimate artists, giving platforms a responsibility to police manipulation effectively. He could contend that weak or uneven enforcement harms artists who depend on the system’s fairness, even if the court found his particular claims did not plausibly establish legal wrongdoing.
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